I wanted you to know I had worth
Beyond the kitchen sink and the classroom
I was shaped in whalebone and lace
My dreams fashioned and woven
Delicate structures faded from regret and loss
Unheard songs and stories stitched in unseen seams.
Hidden from view by what you all chose to see in the lines on my face
A smile here, a kindess there, eau de cologne on a summer breeze
Handbag, lipstick, loose change. Sad eyes, tears shed, loves lost, hearts bled.
But I was shaped in whalebone and lace
Beyond the confines and drudgery of my miserable life
I wanted you to know I was beautiful and had worth.
Alison Jean Hankinson
This was for Toads, and it was about Bang-You’re dead… I kind of went off at a tangent at first and thought I was supposed to kill someone, so wrote a poem about killing someone with a cricket bat… it had a touch of dark humour about it, and then I thought maybe that wasn’t what it was supposed to be…this was actually attempt 3….
The image was portrait of Dona Isabel de Porcel by Goya. creative commons.
