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Thursday, February 07, 2008

Readwritepoem: Clothing

For readwritepoem, where the prompt this week was clothing:

(Note: the original of this poem is laid out in a wave formation. I'm lacking the time to put all the tabs in. Might come back and do it later. I haven't written anything new for a while, so this is "one I prepared earlier")

Girl in a Ballgown

For your final school
ball you choose shot
satin, woven at cross-
purposes, the warp and weft
of it, purple of a ripe berry,
green of a new leaf.
I cut and pin and stitch
because this is one thing
I can do for you these
difficult years –
make you a skin that
fits. When you walk
you are sunshine on green
seas, you are purple cloud
shadows shifting on the waves.

You stand high-heeled on the table.
Your level-eyed father
pins the hem straight.
And suddenly you are fainting,
falling head first in a shimmer
of green waves, tumbling
ocean
ocean
ocean
until he,
playing Daedalus to your
Icarus, catches you just in time,
rewriting the old myths

13 comments:

susan said...

beautiful.

Crafty Green Poet said...

very beautiful descriptions and good narrative too

paris parfait said...

An absolutely wonderful poem, Catherine!

Anonymous said...

Catherine, I do not how I missed this. Very well woven poem.

Glad Michele sent me your way today!

Anonymous said...

BTW, I have tagged you. Do check it out at:
10 to 10

Anonymous said...

Hi Catherine, what a lovely piece! Love the ways you've chosen to cut your lines - ending on the school, cross, shot and weft of things - really makes for good pace - and then the idea of making someone a skin that fits - and the whole myth thing at the end. So good:)

sage said...

Lovely--daddy gets to save his little girl one more time? Thanks for sharing, here from michele's

Linda said...

Oh my...that is so lovely...your very picturesque words...descriptive, flowing....

Michele sent me to see what a wonderful writer you are!!!

Anonymous said...

Michele sent me to read your lovely poem, thank you for sharing it.

Deb said...

Catherine, this is beautiful. I love the falling images.

Anonymous said...

A lovely poem and story. The colors, textures, and emotions draw me in.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE this! So vivid.

chicklegirl said...

You made me think of my mother, who sewed my formal dresses when I was a teen. This is sentimental in the best way, like an old photo with all the right details. Perfect words, perfect images. And I loved the reference to Icarus (I just wrote about him last night!)