Pigtails.
She had pigtails.
Long pigtails:
Out of the ordinary pigtails,
A too long to be true,
Can't help but stare
Sort of pigtails.
You're picturing a young girl,
Aren't you?
A Heidi.
Fourteen or fifteen
Running across a prairie....
She was tugging them down
From under a black, tea-cosy-type hat:
All warm and waiting for winter,
Pulling them about like a pair of unruly puppies
Who wouldn't stay where they were put.
60 rather than 16,
Toting all her worldly goods about
In a big, black, bin-liner bag;
To those 'above the lifeline'
A lost soul falling off the frail frontier
Of self-respect and state subsidy,
Sliding slowly but surely into invisibility
To our supposed civilised society.
But she still cared for her hair:
Her own small glory.
Clearly, so very evidently:
Here was a lady.
[Just a brief glimpse of a woman on the Rebberg Hill - a rich area of Mulhouse, France - her situation contrasted dramatically with her surroundings, but in her 'previous life-before-the-fall' I have this feeling she knew the area well]
Beautiful poem. The woman reminds me of my grandmother who wore her very long hair in braids until she died. thanks.
60 rather than 16, Toting all her worldly goods about In a big, black, bin-liner bag; To those 'above the lifeline' A lost soul falling off the frail frontier Of self-respect and state subsidy, Sliding slowly but surely into invisibility To our supposed civilised society. A very touching piece Tony - nicely written...
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
You penned a clear picture of the many who fall foul of the complexities in life Tony - - and yet who try to preserve some dignity..... a fine piece as a tribute to those who try. 10 + + + Fay