as a cocktail. A Marilyn Monroe of a drink. Plum
lipstick, see-through skirt. Yes! Eugenia loves
being irresistible. Drink me, drink me. But
which to become?--a martini with
blue curaçao & lemon twisties
or champagne with creme Yvette (aromatic
seeds, wild violets, brandy), dashed
with cloves. O, life is such
an adventure: today's installment: a librarian
with the transplanted heart of a biker
starts to crave beef &--true
story--goes out & buys
a Harley. Eugenia's drink
is the color of a heart, has cravings:
Serialized romances. Card tricks. Anchovies.
Would you drink me, drink me, drink
Eugenia if she's infused with violets?--
petals tickling your throat, O,
O, it's metaphysical, the night sky
Fizzing. Stars like gold canaries: cognac,
chartreuse. The cadence of the moon,
all that. Frog song.
She's the story you'll pick up &
never put down. You will become thirsty.

SUE D. BURTON

"Eugenia Decides to Come Back, Next Life," originally
appeared in Hunger Mountain: The Vermont College Journal
of Arts & Letters, Spring 2004 All-Vermont Issue.