Page:Poems Kennedy.djvu/161

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AT THE KIK-U-CHA[1]
OF all the sights I e'er beheld
In haunts of home or lands afar,
The very sweetest one, I ween,
Was Kitty at the Kik-u-Cha.
A miniature Mikado court
The salon seemed, with light aglow
And multi-hued chrysanthemums—
So "Japanesy," don't you know!
   And Kitty—well, she was divine
   (Celestial, I should rather say),
   With painted brows and hair Japanned
   In quite the Oriental way.

Her robe was rich with 'broideries
Wrought all in gold and silver threads;
Around its hem long-legged storks
In solemn conclave showed their heads
A flight of cranes soared up her sash
To nest, perchance, where on her sleeve
A group of silken cat-tails spread
A most phantasmal make-believe.
   Not maid of Tokio herself
   Had worn her robe with more eclat,
   Or flirted with more naivete
   Than Kitty at the Kik-u-Cha.

Beneath a colored parasol
She sat and poured her nectared tea—

147

  1. Chrysanthemum Tea.