Monday, March 7, 2011

Parody


















PARODY

My mother holds her cheeks for my inspection;
"Beautiful," I say, "just right,"
Glad that her old eyes cannot see
The lines that cross her face
Like a brand.
She is of an age with Marilyn and Liz
But without the surgeon's knife or early death
To freeze her in a frame.
I've heard that in her later years,
Elizabeth the queen froze herself with paste,
Turning a once fine face into a clown-like mask
Against whom none dare laugh.
I contemplate this now
As I paint my own beginning-to-fall face
And line my drooping lids with kohl.
I think it is no laughing matter;
Without the asp, would Cleopatra, too,
Have been this tragicomic parody of youth?

10 comments:

  1. Beautiful Karen, really enjoyed it, especially the opening lines about your Mom.

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  2. I liked the story telling with the trace bit of vanity pushing it along.

    Question...though I know you are talking about Marc Antony's Cleopatra do yoou know how many antiquity Cleopatra's there were in actuality?

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  3. I think along these same lines, lining my own drooping lids.

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  4. I love this - an excellent question there at the end.

    My face looks totally different to me these days - not just drooping & dark circles under the eyes. It looks like its taken on a whole new SHAPE. I'm trying to decide whether I like it or not :)

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  5. The big 70 fast approaches .... No knives for this lady though. Nicely written!

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  6. For what it's worth, Elizabeth at least also had the excuse of covering up smallpox scars (not very becoming for a Queen). :) Still a wise and enjoyable message, though.

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  7. I'm actually quite enjoying the changes in real life, though not in photographs!

    I like the use of so many women in the poem.

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  8. You accurately portray our obsession with youthful appearance. I must add that,as a 51 year old, I feel more beautiful now than ever in my youth, and the lovely lines of living traverse my every inch.

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  9. I'm not ready to let go of who I was either.

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  10. Sorry that I've not been around blogs lately. But I do keep reading all of you whenever I can... and when I read this, I couldn't resist commenting. This is brilliant Karen. I know I can't say that I can relate to what is written, but I feel the gravity of your words. And yet you've managed to take some weight off it by keeping a light air about it. It was a wonderful read, as always.

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