The Right Hand.


A finer manner never crossed a plate.
No clatter. No chimping of the tines upon
The china. Miraculously, meat slips
Into the mouth. No sound: no chewing. No one
But a British Queen could machinate
The petty poises needed to maneuver
Such a meal. But it is not upheld
To a glass: nor is a glass upheld to it.
Indeed, nor discussed over
Creme de menthe. No more would the true
Cogniscento exclaim at the sight
Of a well-clipt serif, or a curly-Q
Admirably bent, or a flounce hot &
Pressed in pleats. Such is the lot
Of those who whip up and prune out
Their politesse, aspiring one day
To fold their dextrous soul
Peaceably in the leaves of Good King
James: silent: prosaic: lipless:
Able to be imitated joylessly.