One Thousand Lots for Christie's

In the People magazine

there is an article about your old belongings

soon to go to auction.

Your many-colored pumps

line the bottom of a page,

some still shiny red as new,

others patent black,

even gold.

Some are scuffed and worn,

still bearing the shape of your foot.

Perhaps inside

the dark sweat print of a toe

remains

to prove to us

you were human after all.

 

Highly desired

are your unwashed dresses with armpit stains,

molded to your form,

as though part of you remained to fill them,

and from this you could be captured

or reborn.

 

On the next page your cookware is displayed:

a set of faded yellow pots and pans,

some battered cookbooksY

Did you find Joy in cooking,

in contrasting

the bright carrots against

the green of peas?

 

Page by page your personal belongings

are displayed for strangers.

Your menorah

from when you became a Jew,

took on faith for love;

the baby grand piano

that belonged to your great-grandmother.

There should be someone

to come and collect them

someone who knew youB

some friend, some family member

 

not some wealthy stranger,

who would take these things greedily,

as fans would try

to pull a hair from your head

while you still lived.

 

Somewhere among these objects

they hope to discover your soul-

captured in your tiny television set

or between the leaves

of the books you read.

 

There is a photo you took

of your husband,

Joe Dimaggio, at the sea.

Perhaps you are still there

on the other side of the snapshot

behind the camera, for once,

eluding us forever.

 

Reviews

[Juliet]

I often think of Marilyn; how she lived, how she died. You have captured here the loneliness of death, the low steps humans will take to worship another human. Thank you for writing this. She was a girl, an actress, a human, who came to an unfair end. I grieve her sometimes and I wish I had known her as a friend...I think she would have made a good friend. You have written an amazing tribute to her, and I think she might have read it and nodded her head in agreement. Thank you. You have an amazing way with words.

Juliet
(I wrote a poem about T.S. Eliot, but I think yours is far superior. It captures something I could not.)

I can't wait to read more of you :)

[Will B]

I really like this piece. The impossible process of humanizing a star... The descriptions are great for providing movement and developing the theme. You pick great images and the flow of the poem feels good throughout.

As far as this poem goes, my only question is - why did you choose to place your line-breaks in those places? I'm not sure after reading this several times. Otherwise, the only technical advice I'd give would be to not choose the word greedily... it just strikes me as a little off. You're suggesting violence with the imagery, so I'd suggest a more violent word.

I think this poem has the potential for hitting us deeper by delving into the question of why it is that we become so obsessed with these people, who in reality we don't really know. The last stanza is perfect for hitting that point, but I don't think it is developed as much in the body of the poem... mostly you focus on creating the character of Monroe, and very little is spent on those who want to take the items of her life in comparison.