Untitled #13

it was not Alisa
the girl who posed in the photograph
with bare
feet, half-naked, dressed
in rags, her dark hair
cropped short
one hand pressed against her waist
as if dancing
palm stretched out for alms
with naked
shoulders
it was certainly not Alisa
that girl grew into a charming
Victorian lady
gave birth to three sons, two
died in the Great War
no it was not Alisa
who was seen
one hot summer afternoon, floating in a boat
on the river, by a lecturer in mathematics, an eccentric