One Way to Lose a Husband.(Poem)

 
ONE WAY TO LOSE A HUSBAND 
 
   Every family has an odd cousin who dresses 
   like a rag bag and laughs or cries at the wrong 
   time. Was she Evelyn, Elaine or ... what? 
 
   She always seemed hot, and inappropriate. 
   Apparent change of subject. And scene. 
   The beach where we went swimming 
 
   when a summer day in my intemperate city 
   approached the zone of balmy. Always much 
   appreciated, by the by. This beach my mother 
 
   chose for us because this had always been her beach. 
   And we had the photo to prove it. Posed at attention 
   in her ruched bathing suit. And the cousin in question 
 
   looking sane and smiling, in spite of a hideous perm. 
   It was during the War--said my mother, unexpectedly. 
   She got married and ...