ThrowBackThursday (TBT POETRY–Wrote this in 1991 when I moved to Florida)
I never wear white
It makes me look fat
It wipes out my complexion
And being a slob, white isn’t right for me
But what a great white dress discovered
In the Goodwill Thrift Shop
Only $3.50
Although it hung just below the knee
It looked very Victorian
(The only era for me)
So I decided that maybe I could dye it blue
Nah (I think in slang)
Walked away
Seductive lodestone irresistibly
Dragged me across the floor
Look, I argued, this is Florida
You wore dark colors in Philly
But white is for Florida
Agonized over it and once again
Walked away
Poked around the other stuff in the store
Then submitted to my desire
Ripped it off the rack
Almost dropped it
Because happily deciding
It’s an Emily Dickinson dress
I unhappily had the penetrating realization that
I’m leading a lonely Emily Dickinson life
Newly-made spinster affectedly wearing white?
Uh uh
(Didn’t fight)
Hung it up and decided to
Continue being Chekhovian
Bought a black dress
In either color I’m in mourning for my life
But Masha was so much more exciting than Emily
I’ll opt for fiction anytime
© 1991, 2013 Madame Sosostris Explains (a poetry patchwork)
Image: Emily Dickinson’s Dress (Emily Dickinson Museum)