The Beautiful Mercedes
by Bill Yarrow
No one who saw the beautiful Mercedes
in the summer of 1966 could ever forget her.
When she walked into Café Danglars, heads turned.
I was sent upstate for two years for passing unpopular
checks, but when I got out, I went back to the Café D
just to catch a glimpse of her again. It took a month
but she did return. I was there that day, sitting at
the counter in my Bermuda shorts, sucking a 7-Up.
The screen door slowly opened. I was expecting the second
coming of perfection. Not quite. She was bloated like a
bagel. Her thighs looked like freezer bags filled with dimes.
There was no necklace anywhere that could fit around that neck.
Two years earlier, she was real money, a class investment.
When she ate up all her principal, well, we lost interest.
in the summer of 1966 could ever forget her.
When she walked into Café Danglars, heads turned.
I was sent upstate for two years for passing unpopular
checks, but when I got out, I went back to the Café D
just to catch a glimpse of her again. It took a month
but she did return. I was there that day, sitting at
the counter in my Bermuda shorts, sucking a 7-Up.
The screen door slowly opened. I was expecting the second
coming of perfection. Not quite. She was bloated like a
bagel. Her thighs looked like freezer bags filled with dimes.
There was no necklace anywhere that could fit around that neck.
Two years earlier, she was real money, a class investment.
When she ate up all her principal, well, we lost interest.
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Author's Note
This poem, a reworking of The Count of Monte Cristo, was published in Staxtes, a Greek Literary Review.
"The Beautiful Mercedes" appears in THE VIG OF LOVE (Glass Lyre Press, 2016).
Other stories by Bill Yarrow
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The poor thing… and the whole piece, riches to rags and bags full of dimes. Alas. Nicely made though… artful.
Unpopular checks. Principal and interest. Yikes! Yarrow waves his magic wand once again. *****
I like the way this plays with expectation and seduction narratives.*
"The screen door slowly opened. I was expecting the second
coming of perfection. Not quite."
Good writing, Bill. I like the piece.
Thanks, Steven, Jake, Amanda, and Sam. Glad you liked the poem!
that image alone -- of the freezer bags full of dimes -- worth his doing time ... excellent use of the "I" speaker in this poem. *
Thanks for recognizing the criminal and criminally-bigoted speaker in this, Ann. Great comment!
Unpopular checks. Gotta love that.
Wow, what a turn around narrative. "Her thighs looked like freezer bags filled with dimes." Gads, what a stunning image/metaphor, gotta say. In the 1st part of the poem I immediately thot of Marquez's character Remedios the Beauty--but your Mercedes's transformation takes a far less ethereal turn!
Thank you, Gary and Ed!