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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

A Bit of Red for Valentine's Day

I Shall Paint My Nails Red, by Carole Satyamurti, 1990

Because a bit of colour is a public service.
Because I am proud of my hands.
Because it will remind me I'm a woman.
Because I will look like a survivor.
Because I can admire them in traffic jams.
Because my daughter will say ugh.
Because my lover will be surprised.
Because it is quicker than dyeing my hair.
Because it is a ten-minute moratorium.
Because it is reversible.

From: An Introduction to Poetry. Kennedy and Gioia, eds. 8th edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.

9 comments:

  1. I wish I had nice nails so I could paint them red :)

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    1. I think I had nice nails for a couple of days once, after I had been sick for a week with the flu and hadn't done any dishes or other work with my hands! So I can vicariously experience glorious red nails through this poem.

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  2. Annie doesn't go ion much for fingernail painting. Toenails on the other hand, belong in an entirely different domain.

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    1. Her hands are too busy quilting, I imagine. :)

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  3. I love this! I rarely paint my fingernails b/c I do not want to draw attention to my hands - they are "worn" - I do like to have pretty toe nails in the warm weather - but the reasons the poet listed here make me want to change my mind. I actually proud of what my hands CAN do - I just don't think they are attractive....

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    1. What a great comment, "proud of what my hands CAN do."
      It's a losing battle to keep my hands in moderately good condition--mine are worn, too, but thinking of all our hands have accomplished-- well, WOW!
      I save the polish for my toes, also. I guess the toes deserve their own post one of these days. But Mark will probably leave and never come back if we go to discussing toes, even as open-minded as he is!:)

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  4. Never come back? Me? Don't you worry-I am accustomed to being on the fringes of many of these discussions.

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  5. Not a nail polisher--fingers or toes. Too lazy. But love this poem anyway.

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  6. Very interesting blog. Alot of blogs I see these days don't really provide anything that I'm interested in, but I'm most definately interested in this one. Just thought that I would post and let you know. Bit Badges

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