She learned
to wear a tiara
on her cheap cropped hair
to lift her own veil
to walk with the sun
in her eyes
without scowling
to love the way her thick unplucked brows
contrasted with any idea
of bridal white
She knew how to hold herself
when the girls
with identical fringes
giggled at her behind their hands
to walk past them
and take up a seat
beside a window
She was practiced in the art of
how to remain silent before men
who struck up conversation with her
and then talked only of themselves
while they appraised her
as though she were an item of furniture
or just one among many of the endless cabs
in the rank
I think she's more than a match for them all! It takes so much strength to stand alone
ReplyDeleteThat much is the truth James
ReplyDeletego uber if the cabs are rank
ReplyDeletethe only sincerity is silence
that's the kind of prayer God likes
threats best accompanied with violence
this is the wicked way of the world
the deity stands where the bolt was hurled