the red hat

you remember her red
hat.
how it stood out
in the crowded
room.
a scarlet light
upon her head.
her face below
the hat,
a secondary
object of desire,
the feather
that bent at an
angle, stuck
hard in the top.
the only woman
in the room with
a hat,
the red hat, saying
loudly,
pick me, I'm
the one.