She billed herself as exotic temptress of Asian dance
With deep, dark, alluring eyes and milky skin she would entrance
Soldiers, statesmen and others; she became the toast of France.
She was sought after by every Charlie, Jacques, and Larry;
They ogled her nudity over glasses of fine sherry.
She was the goddess of dance, the succulent Mata Hari.
Awaiting in a garden, for the near naked nymph to arrive
Each performance was different, and each vibrant dance was live.
In front of their hollow hungry eyes she became alive.
Chocolate hair whipping around her throat as she whirled.
Amidst lewd grins, a rainbow of veils was shed as she twirled.
The haughty, spoiled Dutch girl now entertains the whole world.
Red lanterns for atmosphere, patrons hold their breath and then sigh.
Slowly lowering her body to the ground as if to die -
Her courtesans remove her and bid the spectators goodbye.
Author notes
Mata Hari was a Dutch woman who, prior to WWI was the Josephine Baker of her day. During WWI her career was winding down and she was caught in a web of espionage intrigue and eventually executed by the French government. Their is some evidence that top prosecutor may have actually been a German spy who fingered her to take the light off his own activities.
This poem is meant to highlight her dancing at the peak of her career.
The source for the photo is http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/08_01/matahariREX_468x311.jpg
Word Bank 1
breath, red, hollow, vibrant, succulent; rainbow, grin, hari, hair, Charlie, chocolate, deep , milk, throat
In a list
A contest entry
- Word Bank #2 Contest!!! BIG POINTS!! by Sweet Impatience.
1600 points, ended September 29, 2008, 13 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 16 of 16
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first I must say this was an outstanding take on the prompts. [the word bank] thank you for the information in the author's notes. I learned something new today.. excellent job.
good luck
kat
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Thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate you reading my poem and the HM.
Mike
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Superb plus
A very fine write indeed, my friend. Imagery; rhythm and rhyme are just fine. Thanks for sharing this one with us.
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Thank you for reading and commenting. I struggled with this one. I had to be nuts to do a aaa, bbb rhyme scheme.
Mike -
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You are quite welcome, my friend.
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I used to know a abit about her. She was fairly old by the time they killed her, early forties I think. Have you read "A man called Intrepid?" it is a history of WWll from the perspective of the British secret service. There was another Mata Hari then who was British and operated in America. She seduced French General and obtained the information on the Gold rescued from France and stored in a French Caribean fort for the duration. Get this- the collateral securing the loan for lend-lease was a commando raid plan to steal that Gold...
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Towards the end she was making most her money as a paid mistress and bed partner. A book I recently read portrayed the actually espionage as more of peddling in gossip to reduce her debts and becoming a dupe of the head of French counterintelligence, who may have been in the employ of the Germans.
I have not read that book that you mentioned. Nor have I heard of the incident at the French Fort. You probably have heard that espionage was the first occupation of Julia Child, the French Chef. Apparently she was rather good at it too.
Mike -
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I used to love the parody of Dan Akroyd mocking Julia, hitting the sherry a bit 2 much and slicing off a finger... Yep knew she was a spy. The french gold was not stolen. Its prescence, and theftability, guaranteed the loan for the british. If america had demanded payment, then you would have known about it. You like Irony? How's this: I also write as Parenchma. I entered Edna Sweetlove's contest about vicious parodies and satire, with a preference of targeting evangelical christians. I wrote a piece, "All the grapes" which is a satire of Atheistic anti-christians, and won the silver. ill fetch the link, if you are interested. Who knows tho, you may be an Atheistic anti-christian!
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wow.... as always dear cuz you have a way with history I cant tolerate lmao! veyr nicely penned ans thanks for the info!
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History, like any other subject can be taught as boring facts or it can be taught in an interesting manner. I am glad that I can be interesting.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Mike
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An excellent poem and terrific use of the word bank. You certainly didn't use the easiest rhyme scheme going, but you managed to pull it off.
All the best in the contest
Sue
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The rhyme scheme proved to be a real bear. It took me a whole evening to work it out. I had to change it around several times to get some semblence of rhume and flow.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Mike
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Great imagination there Chucks! Wonderful use of the word bank as well. I wish you all the luck!
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Thank you. I am glad that you enjoyed it. It was one of the hardest wordbancks i have done, because of the rhyme scheme I chose.
Mike
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wow see your awesome..... i could never do a word bank but you always seem to nail them.... thanks for sharing with me and good luck in contest.......!
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Thank you for reading and commenting. You are always a champion in my corner. I am glad you enjoyed the poem.
Mike
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