The Fall Collection
I shop for words
as though the dictionary was a catalog
of women’s clothes or shoes
As though the folded over corners
of favorite words on pages
were the edited alliterations
of hemmed skirts
Browsing for the uncommon
I pin down a suitable meaning
unfold a matching pattern
for a custom-made fit
And if I was a model
and my signature was a label
I’d be zipping down a runway
wearing poetry on my sleeve!
~ Colleen Redman
Post note: The above is one of the poems I read at Saturday Night’s Spoken Word at the Café del Sol (which you can read about HERE). It was written in the fall of ’04.
October 23rd, 2007 9:15 am
I like this one. Speaks to me as a former fashion victim and shopaholic (I’ve converted to words as a form of self-medication too as it happens).
October 23rd, 2007 9:19 am
The first year I had a blog and traveled somewhere, my husband was surprised that I didn’t want to check out the shops. I was too busy taking names and photos. “The blog has cured me of shopping!” I told him.
October 23rd, 2007 9:44 am
I enjoyed it at Spoken Word…and I enjoy it now. You paint pictures with your words.
October 23rd, 2007 10:19 am
made me smile – always a good beginnning to a difficult day .. sk
October 23rd, 2007 12:15 pm
Wonderful poem!
I’m adding you to my links at blogger.com. On a side note, I see you were raised in Hull. I lived in Boston in the seventies and from about 1975 to 1977 I moored my 22 foot sailboat right down in the hook at the tip of Hull. I hear it’s building up now and the old clapboard houses are being torn down for rich folks’ homes. Too bad. It was so charming then.
October 23rd, 2007 2:07 pm
The dictionary is my favorite “catalog” too (along with the thesaurus). And no credit card required!
Great poem, Colleen.
October 23rd, 2007 2:11 pm
wonderful poem, as usual, colleen! your such a gifted analogist ( is that a word? ) 🙂
October 23rd, 2007 3:52 pm
You do paint pictures with your words…June is right. And I can relate to designer labels so I really like this one!
October 23rd, 2007 4:12 pm
Shopping for words … lovely. 🙂
October 23rd, 2007 5:36 pm
Great Poem as usual. xo
October 23rd, 2007 10:31 pm
Collen you seem to be more technical than I . How can I comment or even change my site address without it being all over the internet?
October 28th, 2007 8:45 am
I love the shopping metaphor and especially the last line!
July 30th, 2014 9:36 pm
[…] 12. I shop for words / as though the dictionary was a catalog / of women’s clothes or shoes / As though the folded over corners / of favorite words on pages / were the edited alliterations / of hemmed skirts. The rest of this poem is HERE. […]