It’s amazing that I could find and see,
a chivalrous man in the garment industry.
Yet I did find a most wonderful man,
I will try to describe him as best as I can.

He was tall and slim,
I was really impressed,
he always was impeccably dressed.

Each week fresh flowers for the showroom were bought,
he displayed them artfully with a delicate hand.
The leftovers to the “Duchess”, my mother, were sent;
What a delightful thought.

When I was ailing for a few months
awaiting an operation,
his chauffeur and limo
took care of my daily transportation.

For this I was grateful and was on my guard,
to separate his girlfriends and his wife, which was hard.

“Remember”, he told me, “you are the best,
you are Miss Gerta from Celeste”.
On Herald Square we could be found,
the shoppers could see us when Macy bound.

To work for my boss was an education,
he built up my confidence -
my self appreciation.
He knew about fashion, music, the arts,
he was a good teacher;
a man of many parts.

When buyers came from out of town
at the beginning of each season,
they sometimes wanted him to take them out
for a salacious reason.

He insisted that I come along  as chaperon
to let the ladies know that they were on their own.

After five good years we had to part,
we did so with a heavy heart.

This is what he told me when I retired,
“had I seen your handwriting, you would never have been hired”.
Then he laughed and said what I would have missed,
and then we hugged and then we kissed.

© Gerta Freeman - October 10, 2008