What Every Woman Should Carry
By Maura Dooley
My mother gave me the prayer to Saint Theresa.
I added a used tube ticket, kleenex,several Polo mints (furry), a tampon, pesetas,
a florin. Not wishing to be presumptuous,
not trusting you either, a pack of 3.
I have a pen. There is space for my guardian
angel, she has to fold her wings. Passport.
A key. Anguish, at what I said/didn’t say
when once you needed/didn’t need me. Anadin.
A credit card. His face the last time,
my impatience, my useless youth.
That empty sack, my heart. A box of matches.
from: "Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times" edited by Neil Astley, page 116
florin - a former British coin worth two shillings or a gold coin formerly used in Eurpoe
pesetas - monetary unit of Spain before the Euro
anadin - a brand of painkiller sold in the UK
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You know the best poems, Marion :-)
ReplyDeletei love this poem, how it speaks for us all, but i wonder too what it might look like if we each wrote our own poem, how it might differ. that would be a hell of an interesting venture.
ReplyDeletewhat would be in your bag, marion? (what would be in mine?)
(when i read poems like the eaven boland poem you sent to me i realize i have perhaps never written a poem. this is ok to realize. maybe one day i will:)
xo
erin
I'm so glad you talked me into this book :) Damn Marion, if these just aren't the unrealist times I ever could have dreamt! I' not sure what my mother gave me...but I've added more than a 3 pack to it, for sure!
ReplyDeleteLove you dear friend.