Clothing Catalogues Poem by Hans Ostrom

I like to look at clothing catalogues
because photographed models
look so glad. "This sweater makes
me very happy, " says a photo of a
man. "We're both wearing hopeful
skirts, " says a snapshot of two women.

Some clothes appear without models
but seem animated: arms of shirts
and blouses assert themselves.
"We won't wait for bodies to take
us traveling, " says the cloth. Noble

prose describes the products:
"Traditional cashmere in contemporary
styles. Imported."Retail catalogues
are a kind of comedy in which people
marry products in the end and prices
dance with prose. You see in a good
light what's for sale, gazing at
things you think might improve you.