In preparation

Image courtesy of the Old Design Shop, a vintage image treasury.

In preparation
          for life’s many little pageants

We brush out our hair,
cut the dry, split ends,
straighten out the frizz.
We lather up our legs
and smooth out the bristle.
We take concealer to those rings beneath our tired eyes
and layer over the unhappy spots.
We tint tiny rainbows on our eyelids
and add a flick of Cleopatra’s kohl.
Heeled, contoured, groomed, composed,
we stage a tincture of our most come-hither selves.
—
Emily, sister and sweetheart of the modern boy, returns. Here she offers some observations about her sisters at their pre-seduction toilette.

This time last year, I gathered together twenty-five poems inspired by Emily, an ego de plume who communicates with the Modern Boy. Emily’s Poems for Modern Boys covers the broad topics of life, work and love. Preview it here.
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Twitter: @BeadedQuill
Facebook: BeadedQuill
Books:
In the Ocean: a year of poetry
Emily’s Poems for Modern Boys
Shining in Brightness: Selected Poems, 1999 – 2012