Kenton Comes to Tea
Kenton comes to tea.
Dunne serves at table.
Kenton knew Hazel
even as a child.
Her late father's friend
watches Dunne pour tea
into his teacup.
Your dear father's death
was quite sudden he says.
We were in Paris
touring when news came
Hazel says softly.
Who was the other?
Kenton asks Hazel.
Dunne here my maid came.
Oh I see he says
gazing at Dunne's thighs
hidden behind cloth.
He was a good man
Kenton says firmly
I've known him for years.
Dunne wants to refute
but remains silent.
Her master's abuse
of her sexually
remains in her mind.
Hazel looks at Dunne
she knows the secrets
knew her father's deeds.
Kenton rattles on.
Hazel remembers
her months in Paris
with Dunne at her side.
Art and galleries.
Cafes on corners
smoking and drinking.
Talking and laughing.
Both of them bathing
always together
touching and feeling
kissing and holding
in one bed at night.
Dunne slices the cake
pours Hazel's black tea
her blue eyes searching.
Kenton eats his cake
talks between mouthfuls
spluttering small crumbs.
Dunne studies Hazel
her eyes undressing
her tongue like a snail
moves slowly between
her mistress's thighs
her hands embracing
the smooth naked skin
in her memory.
Hazel looks away
the room is so warm.
She knows that soft stare
sexual and hot
and she whispering
more of that don't stop
scratching through the air.
Dunne hears her and smiles
pours Kenton more tea.
He is unaware there's love in the air.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Hazel On the Edge
Dunne watches as Hazel unpins her hair.
She can see her facial expression in the
Dressing table mirror. I usually do that,
Dunne says. I thought you’d like a break
From being my maid, Hazel replies, catching
Dunne’s eyes. Dunne fiddles with her fingers,
Stares back at her mistress’s reflection. She
Notices Hazel’s smile. I feel useless if I don’t
Do anything, Dunne says. Hazel turns around
And says, you are never useless to me. They
Look at each other as if time had stopped.
Hazel seems on the edge of a chasm. She
Wants to put her arms around Dunne and
Draw her close to her. She just stands feeling
A falling sensation. Dunne looks away and says,
Did you want me to prepare a bath for you?
Hazel breathes in slowly. Calm, she tells herself.
Dunne goes to the window to peer out onto
The Parisian street below. Hazel moves up
Behind Dunne. She looks at Dunne’s hair,
The slope of shoulders, the smell of scent
She’d given her. Yes, Hazel says, a bath would
Be welcome after such a busy day sightseeing.
Dunne turns and smiles. Hazel is on the brink
Of putting out a hand to touch Dunne’s cheek.
She holds her hands by her side. Dunne moves
Off and out of the room to prepare a bath in
The bathroom next door. Hazel sighs. So close.
So near. She holds onto the scent of Dunne.
She senses things fall away: prejudices, class,
Manners, mores; feels her emotions flood her
Mind. Love, all love, Father used to say, is blind.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A fanatic is a man that does what he thinks the Lord would do if He knew the facts of the case.
quote by Finley Peter Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
There ain't any news in being good. You might write the doings of all the convents of the world on the back of a postage stamp, and have room to spare.
quote by Finley Peter Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
We Do What We Can
Downstairs they're playing Kenton
The house set to swing
I lay in my bed
And listen to everything
Cause Leo's in rare form tonight
His trombone sings so sweet
This is the room
Where they all come to meet
He said
I do what I can
I live for the moment
And that's who I am
Yeah that's who I am
And isn't it good
If we could freeze moments in time
We all would
But I do what I can
I do what I can
Downstairs he's playing Kenton
The Magnavox sighs
But oh how the music has changed
In all of our lives
He says "nobody listens
To modern jazz"
And I'll never have what those guys have
He says
I do what I can
I work for a living
And that's who I am
Yeah that's who I am
And it's good to be alive
But everything's different since Leo died
I do what I can
Is this the end of the modern world
What could it mean for a young girl
Who sees the pain on his face
He does what he can
The procession on the TV screen
What could it possibly mean for a man
Who's come this far just to turn around
Could there still be life in Kenton's swing
With the Kennedys gone and everything
Those sad rows of houses with their optimistic colors
Democrat grandparents and draft-dodging brothers
Riots down the street and discontented mothers
We do what we can
Downstairs it's quiet
Less alive somehow
Somehow he was everything that I am now
And he says
I do what I can
I work for a living
And that's who I am
And that's who I am
But it's good to be alive
And these are the choices
We make to survive
You do what you can
song performed by by Sheryl Crow from Tuesday Night Music Club
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Years ago the public used to hound me but now I can go shopping in peace.
quote by Irene Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I only got to be able to act, because I gave myself a job as a producer.
quote by Griffin Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Don't jump on a man unless he is down.
quote by Finley Peter Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
So being two different people in one day unnerved me to no end.
quote by Irene Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Although there was a screenplay, the actors never knew what questions I was going to ask them, and all of my character's voice-over narration and scenes were added after the fact.
quote by Griffin Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I always believed in my characters. I lived them.
quote by Irene Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
You see I found I didn't have to act to be happy.
quote by Irene Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Trust everybody, but cut the cards.
quote by Finley Peter Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I met Steve McQueen once. Well, met isn't really the right word.
quote by Griffin Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The past always looks better than it was. It's only pleasant because it isn't here.
quote by Finley Peter Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I'm in five guilds; that's a lot of dues to pay. So I have to keep on working.
quote by Griffin Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I've always been schizophrenic; I've never been interested in limiting myself.
quote by Griffin Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Alcohol is necessary for a man so that he can have a good opinion of himself, undisturbed be the facts.
quote by Finley Peter Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I'll leave the swearing to the Jane Fondas.
quote by Irene Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I produced six movies with Amy Robinson since the very early '80s.
quote by Griffin Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I came to New York to be an actor and I became a film producer first.
quote by Griffin Dunne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!