surprised but untroubled, not quite
welcoming. She looks askance
at one who has, unmasking, disturbed her
solitude. Her greeting concedes what it must,
but she remains turned to purpose of her own.
This, too, she will turn to her purposes,
an encounter she expected, not knowing
just when, or what she should expect.
She has kept her own counsel;
It will serve her now.
Breeding has taught her that all-bearing look.
Poised to take what comes, she receives
with grace, gives back what befits
her modesty and station.
Cordelia would have done no more.
Richly presentable in linen and pearls,
wrapped in a light that fits her like her scarves,
she rises to the occasion, self-possessed,
accustomed to possession,
relinquishing solitude with dignity,
who will not be forced,
neither eager not reluctant,
not defensive, not submissive,
willing to speak her "Fiat mihi"
In her own time.
Marilyn Chandler McEntyre
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