when she wears her prettiest dress;

Tonight she will take a long warm bath,
soak in the milk suds and breathe aromatherapy.
She will shave the stiff thick hairs from her legs
and manicure between her arms and thighs.
Then she will rub lotion on her elbows
belly, back, neck, calves, knees.
She will dry her long blonde hair
and part it oh-so-carefully.
She will paint her toes an ominous gray
and clip her fingernails just so,
then line her large gray eyes so thick
and mascara her lashes with a blackened stick.
She will slide into her lacy underpants
and clasp a small black bra,
then shimmy into a ruffly shift
and slip her stockinged feet into the shoes that fit.
She is wearing her prettiest dress tonight
to do no more than dine on fish at home,
but how she loves to sit in red high heels at her table
and enjoy an evening meal alone.