divine, miss m

you never moved in color
always flirting in black and white
but who knew you lived in gray


did you really...one day in '62
some say they saw it coming
but i never could tell
from your face
   eyes lips skin magic
the graininess
   (where was technicolor)
could not stop the world
from stopping
when the skirt lifted
the shoulders hunched
the hips jutted
dreams came easy


or was it taken from you
that day in '62
for fighting fierce
and loving fiercer
a country girl between
a rock and a hard place
barbiturates brought the stars
a man-god could only promise


now i see you in color
larger than the life you breathed

you outshine them all
if god keeps true to his promise
you might even outlive him


if a life in gray was all it took
you did splendidly well
and i say...


divine, miss m, divine

Image: Marilyn Monroe (1962) by Andy Warhol

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