in praise of spinsters
by
LAUREL ANN BOGEN
I am no castoff
no raggedy
I am as bountiful as corn
my face turned toward the sun
I sing in praise of spinsters
who weave their hair
to make strong rope
who cast their dreams
to make fine pots.
We are your mystery
the ones who slipped away
I celebrate what we are ----
clay sifting through fingers
women alone
harvesting the earth.
Laurel Ann Bogen teaches poetry and preformance in the UCLA Extension Writer's Program and is the author of eight collections of poetry and short fiction.
(Having been through three bad marriages, I often envy women who did not waste large segments of their lives in a marriage relationship. Therefore this poem appealed to me as it celebrates those lives that did not choose marriage. I saw this poem, again, in Sandra Haldeman Martz's At our Core: Women Writing About Power. This is the last poem I intend to select from this book. But I hope to get my hands on another one of her anthologies soon!)
his is just wonderful just wonderful
ReplyDeletewomen alone
ReplyDeleteharvesting the earth.
The truth if ever I saw it for is it not the fair sex that fishes to catch?
Is it not they, their rejects, that sit around wondering what to do without them?
Surely it is they, the fair sex, that have control?
We males are lost without you, but we are susceptible to bait. lol
Thank you, Mary Ellen, this poem shows how independent women could be, and that you don't have to depend on marriage to feel like a whole person. Love, Laurita.
ReplyDeleteVery touching, Mary Ellen-and powerful, strong feminist support. I admire the strength of single women who are independent and who survive in this tough world, solo. I hate the word "spinster." These are the special ones who "slipped away." Brava.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder if they had it right. I mean I've been in two marriages. One I divorced because he cheated. The other is for comfort. So I wonder if the single women aren't smarter than I am LOL.
ReplyDeletehttp://bostonsdandd.multiply.com/journal/item/284
I've always found it interesting that no matter if married or single,the innate power of all womankind can come through only if in the right situation ....our worth is about our uniqueness and not about living through association of a man.(or it should be)
ReplyDeleteThanks for this selection..most enjoyable!