CHILDHOOD
That time of life when one is chronically subjected
to other people’s taste in clothing,
and loads of other things, that are
cumbersome, uncomfortable,
boring and completely beside-the-point.
As a child, the concessions you must make
start early, on an Easter morning, say –
dress and pinafore, patent leather shoes,
and a bonnet, yes, a bonnet!
Once you buy into the idea
that, as a girl, it’s your duty
to look pretty, you are sunk.
Their rationale is that
temper tantrums
disrupt your outfit,
are not ladylike
and are only for babies—bogus!
Easter, 1949 Francisco Avenue, Rogers Park, Chicago
family, family history, wnc poetry, wnc writer, women writers
Lyte
Your face in the photo says it all!
Gilda Radner: “I base my fashion sense on what doesn’t itch.”
“Once you buy in… you are sunk”! Indeed!
How many other ideas do we buy into?! Today I’m thinking of that toxic urge to please everybody. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” “Don’t rock the boat.”
And let’s not forget “You can never be too rich or too thin.”