#21 Sonnet for Monica Lewinsky

Your youth held not the virtue of the chaste,

Nor beauty rich and rare that men desire.

Attention from the married men you chased,

Poured fuel upon this misbegotten fire.

You laugh, defiant of the whispered scorn

That swirls around each mention of your name.

Your sensuality a mantle born

To ease the pain of such one-sided blame. 

And though your face bears not the lines of pain,

You stand upon the stage with new-found mien,

and gather strength to have a voice again,

Your eyes disguise a fear of being seen.

If e'er you wished the shame you have received

Upon a friend or enemy of old,

You must know now your wish was ill-conceived,

For none should face a fate so cruel or cold.