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Sebastian Always Said
by Shelagh M. Rowan-Legg

Sebastian always said
a lady is judged by
the fineness of her hands,
a gentleman, the cleanliness
of his attire — never
leave the house without
a hat or a story to tell

Sebastian always said
poetry is the most perfect
distillation of the beauty
of life; it should always
be read aloud in a
small company, so the
words can cover you like
a tropical waterfall

Sebastian always said
a woman should wear
white in the summer, in
case of rainfall, and mothers
should only appear when they
are sufficiently elegant to
draw the pretty boys with
their maternal smiles

Sebastian always said
the most beautiful things
are almost too terrible to
look at, but look we must
and feed off life
like the Venus Flytrap

Sebastian always said
girls are only good
for one thing, and even
not that for him,
their perfume nauseating,
their rapid descent into old age
unseemly and pathetic

Sebastian always said
nature is the cruelest thing
of all, nature likes nothing better
than to watch babies die,
consumed by vultures when
they have barely felt the sun

Sebastian always said
he had seen the face of
God, ugly and merciless
only God could turn out the sun
only God could turn his blood cold
only God would consume him dead
and God is at the bottom
of a bottomless well