ManicDDaily

Here is a poem for Magpie Tales 96 and also dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night.   This is based on a photographic prompt from Tess Kincaid, which was of a woman in a shadow that appeared to be a beard.  (It’s not so clear in my version above.)  Below is my poem:

English Essay In Two Ringed Braids

In English class in post-colonial school,
the study of idioms, literature
and exposition are assayed with
diligence: “some
complain that Shakespeare is
dull as ditchwater but in
the pages of MacBeth
may be found
a rip-roaring
ride.  Lady
Macbeth wears the trousers
in the family at the
beginning of
the play, but by Act V,  Macbeth
has taken the trousers
back while the Lady
throws the baby out
with the bathwater, as it were, going mad.
Macbeth, in the meantime,
adds suspenders
to his belt, killing one and all
till he feels as certain of
the throne as Bob’s
his uncle, but he cannot
see the forest for
the trees, coming
to a very bad end.”

The girl writing the essay wears
her hair in braids, which curl into
two ravenshone rings, elastics
camouflaged, in
each case, by
a large white bow, looped
to emulate both butterfly
and lotus,
wing and bloom,
and too, the “x”
of “betwixt,” all
in one
fell swoop.

And now a question for decisive poets and readers out there–I contemplated changing the last couple of lines to refer to the “cross” in “betwixt” rather than the “x”.  That seemed a bit heavy-handed to me, but I am curious to see if anyone thinks it would be an improvement.  Also toyed with “braces” in place of suspenders, but, well, I live in NYC.  Thanks much for your thoughts.

(And please please please check out my new comic novel NOSE DIVE on Amazon if you have a mo.)