A Second Look
Author: Bill Roberts
Don’t ask why but I duck in
to the damp darkened store,
adjust my eyesight and
notice headless dummies
attired in clothes I once wore,
gave up when I outgrew them
or found them too depressing,
often having been handed down
by older brothers, never
as neat as me, even putting
a neat crease in patched pants,
sewing an insignia over a stain,
mismatching checks and colors
to the point of absurdity,
making those who might
otherwise stare look away,
clean and neat though I was,
never a fashion plate,
not once cited as best-dressed,
always curious to examine
new fall fashions I couldn’t
afford on classmates I envied -
not for their brains or
athletic abilities – just their
clothes, new clothes, never
handed down, too fine for
this store that reminds me
who I was, didn’t want to be.
(Published online in issue No. 13 of Thick With Conviction, October 2008)
Note: Another painful reminder of growing up poor (hey, no tears – almost all of us were poor back in the dismal Thirties and Forties). I’ve written quite a few poems about thrift stores and antique emporiums, always get the willies when I walk in, develop that terrible feeling like I’ve been here before, can’t wait to escape, get fresh air. And, sorry to report, I never, ever buy anything secondhand. That’s a vow I made to myself.
April 19th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Hey, already been reading your website for a long period. I run a related journal but I always keep getting a lot of spam comments, how can you keep your blog page so unpolluted?
April 19th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Jeromy: I have several friends who moderate my electronic life, so I can do what I like to do. With Comcast, I have lots of built-in spam avoiders, and I use ‘em all. Wish I could be more helpful, but since I retired from the technical world, I try to avoid all vestiges of that past life. Good luck….Bill