I DO THE WORK

Just girly things

I'm worried that my heartbeat 

isn't feminine enough

that the murky grey green 

seafoam depths of my 

being

aren't pretty

I'm always dusting the corners 

of the good neuropathways 

the ones that sparkle

in every kind of light

I could spend a lifetime stripping

thorns

pruning for him

and I will 

as eternity concedes

still

I will be 

everywhere we go

enduring 

my best years to polish coal for them

as demons call from closets 

professionally organized to display my abundance

glittering

still there I will be

at the helm of my vanity

applying rich jewel 

tones of lacquer

viscous layer

onto layer to

bare

all my teeth 

when I smile

my heartbeat

just has to last 

long enough

to pulse resolve 

through needlework

daring anchors

of sinewy

promise

I know

the blood inside is pure 

still 

each moment

fresh

to begin again

from where I left my body

because the bones are still good

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

many of us spend years trying to be good enough for others when we really need to be good enough for ourselves...the imagery here and the metaphors are sharp, engaging.
"anchors of sinewy promise" big wow on that...
and yes, we can begin again...ignore the reprimands of others as to how we are not good enough..."because the bones are still good"--
excellent work here...the kind of poetry I read that inspires me. Welcome to WC.
j.

[MJK]

Wow thank you Jacob! Appreciate this so much. Sending light to you.

[Helen]

I was attracted by the title and then by the opening lines. Such identification with this! The profound anxiety that women carry to be feminine, to be pretty, to be at least acceptable in the eyes of men. In doing so, they lose themselves and the true femininity that is every woman's birthright that has nothing to do with how she looks.

"I'm worried that my heartbeat
isn't feminine enough"

The poem is beautiful, but painful to read. It conjures up vivid images as it goes along - some I understand, some I do not, but the rhythm and overall meaning carry me along anyway.

The lines at the end reminded me of the story of Skeleton Woman (you tube link below for more detail and an enchanting video by Cartoon Saloon). The lines seem full of hope that woman can regain her true essence.

"to begin again
from where I left my body
because the bones are still good"

http://demandy.com/the-skeleton-woman/

[MJK]

So lovely, thank you a ton for taking the time to share your thoughts on this and my other poem! The idea of femininity's true essence as beyond aesthetics is a wonderful thing to consider. Appreciate your expansion!