To look supernaturally grand—
If you saw papa’s picture, as taken
By Brady, and tinted at that—
You’d never suspect he sold bacon
And flour at Poverty Flat.
And yet, just this moment when sitting
In the glare of the grand chandelier—
In the bustle and glitter befitting
The “finest soirée of the year”—
In the mists of a gaze de Chambéry,