Soubrette (my heart blossoms)

my heart blossoms and the petals are fragrant
like the wrists of a mistress,
stained and ordained with a perfume prepared
to meet the expectations of a lover.

my heart blossoms and the colours explode
in the spectrum of ancient light
caught at the far end of the universe, perceived new
but from the beginning, what always was.

my heart blossoms and all the thorns melt
and run into nothingness, for pain is not regent
in a world where there are the petals and fragrance
of your lips, ripe with emotion and hope.


William F. DeVault. all rights reserved.


this poem appears in my book "Love Gods of a Forgotten Religion" (iUniverse, 2002, ISBN#0-595-22252-8) and is one of my favourites from that volume.


The word "soubrette" is in the dictionary, and its primary meaning is a "pert or flirtatious girl".

This poem was largely inspired by a photo shoot my ex, Ann (or, to those of you who recall her induction into the Top Net Models Hall of Fame, Ann-Michelle) had with San Jose lensman and cartoonist (interesting blend, hm?) Pete S. Conrad. There were some lovely shots, full of energy and innocence. I would rank that shoot as one of her three best ever. But looking at those shots, that word popped into my brain (a side effect of my dictionary diving, there are a lot of words not given to day-to-day conversation that linger, waiting for a cue) and, a moment later, this poem. The cover of this book is not from that shoot, but was a Photo Soap mod I did on a double exposure of Ann that had been taken by her former lover Stephanie Fenter, who remains a friend of mine. I liked the dryad-ish nature of the shot.

It also has a small bit of root in a girl named Susan I met on line back in 1996. A clever writer, given to essays, and beautiful besides, our online friendship continued into my move to LA but we lost contact soon thereafter. Her screen name was a variation on "coquette"...I won't give the real or full screen name, but in case she is out there and reads this, I would love to hear from her to make sure she is okay. She lived, at the time, in Ohio and would be about 32 now.

I am in an introspective and retrospective mood today, but the world spins well and all things are in their place for the second act. Thank you, God, for the gift of my life. And every day may I give you at least one instant in which you are glad to have given it to me. Sorry for the occasional screw ups. I have myself walked in dark places at times for ungrateful souls and understand the aspect (but can never grasp the magnitude) of the sadness you must constantly know for our arrogance and ignorance. I am humbled by your compassion and charity, more even than by your omniscience and omnipotence.