To a Lady of Undeniable Beauty and Practised Charm

No peacock strutting on a balustrade
Could air his feathers with a cooler grace,
Assume a finer insolence of pace,

Or make his sole advance a cavalcade

Of sudden shifts of colour, slants of shade,
Than you, the cold indifference of your face
Sharpening the cunning lure of velvets, lace,
Greens, blues, and golds, seduction on parade.
You take the accolade of staring eyes
As something due your elegance of pose,
Feeding your vanity on pecks of dust,
The weary iteration which supplies
No zest. I see you as a cankered rose

Its silver petals curled and cracked with rust.