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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