September 27, 2010

THE BRA POEM

I sing the praise of bras:
      sport bras, training bras
      uplift bras, padded bras
      nursing bras, magic bras
      strapless bras, full-figure bras

I’ve known more bras than the women who wore them
in all colors & shapes & sizes, just like those women themselves

the sexless bras of my mother
Jacqueline’s flower hippy bra
the unthinkable bras of nuns
green bras cupped like my hands
Elaine’s red bra on a blanket in a meadow

the white bras of Babs
Mary’s rose petal pink bra
saffron bikinis of dancing dakinis
the nighttime black bras of Michele
the jogging bra of June mornings
the burgundy bra I miss so much

Bras surround me everyday, in hiding
peeking beneath summertime blouses
their outlines like the topographical map of the Grand Tetons
taking on the color of the map itself
the outlines of bras I can only imagine

bras hidden in drawers all across America
bras like radio stations I haven’t tuned in yet.

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