The Tourists at the Museum

For the camera

she smiles

otherwise not

and

only when she is

standing beside him

But for the camera?

for the crowd

for posterity

yes

For their children

for the future?

a thousand times

yes

until her face

becomes accustomed

to the wrinkles

her smiles have created

She stands looking at

the paintings at the

museum

She is so skinny

it almost looks like

she is standing on one leg

like a crane

He's caressing her

He handles her bottom

like the bowl of a

tulip

cradled in his hands

filled with callouses

and the leaves of books

and she lets him

and continues to smile

for as long as

it takes