A poem about the trites and vanities required of adolescent girls |
We wore white For some, the attraction already Was apparent for the tighter garments That exposed the curves and flaws Of our adolescent bodies. Others, myself included, Found safety in the flowing Fabric They all wore white shoes Heels higher to prove Their age and readiness for the new world Mine were green flats And I felt the color As I traipsed daintily amongst The sexy stiletto-wearing giants We each took our moment And when the owner became apparent The rest of us would back off, so Accustomed are we to the gate of The tribe. We would cheer with too much gusto Secretly envious And telling ourselves that the next would be ours At the end, Most of us cried We cried for the loss now made obvious But through our tears, Most of us managed to smile All, in fact We'd toss our hair And temporarily exile our emotions Ready as we always were For the flash of the camera. We did look beautiful The swish of white polyester Or cotton, or silk Our rounded arms and hips And the new shape of the foot And of the leaning ankle Unaccostomed to the presence of the heel And we all comented laughingly Of the pink strawberry stains On our new white dresses |