Prompt: The Corpse in the Window

 Prompt from  “642 Things to Write About” by the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto):

The corpse you saw in the Undertaker's window

She looked almost alive.
Almost.
The false flush of life
in her sallow cheeks.
Eyes closed in
a timeless sleep.
Dark hair set in curly waves
across her shoulders and
hands clasped serenely
over her breast.


She looked almost alive
Almost.
White satin and lace
a black rose in the bodice.
Delicate silk gloves
to the elbow.
Ivory stockings
a garter on her thigh
never thrown.


She looked almost alive
Almost.
Long lashes against
a colorless cheek.
A trusting smile
frozen in time.
Never knowing the betrayal
the lurked behind
the eyes of
her beloved.


She looked almost alive
Almost.
If she could take another breath
and feel love in
her cold, cold heart
Perhaps she could find happiness
within a den
of hungry vipers
whose lives are worth more
than just a sack of coin.


She looked almost alive
Almost.
Displayed in the undertaker's window.
A tragic doll
clothed in beautiful white
Where all who viewed her
pitied love's folly
and the inevitable
loss of
innocence.