what?
am I supposed to be grateful?
I’ve had my fill of men taking control of my life.
it usually begins with an unwanted gift;
some are ignorantly selected,
others, deliberately designed to bulldoze my ethics.
I told you I don’t buy new clothes; I don’t want them,
won’t wear them,
so I’ll donate what you gave me to Oxfam,
an while I’m browsing
I may find some donated thing that I like;
but even by proxy, I refuse to engage
with the wasteful side of the fashion trade.
what?
no doubt you think yourself generous
to have presented me with these feminine jeans,
but that rare time you allowed me a minute to speak
you didn’t listen;
or did you forget what I said?
while in certain places I curve like a woman,
I have the hips of a boy;
in no way am I a Marks and Spencer lady
and neither do I wish to be.
what?
did you think you could buy me, win me
for the price of a pair of jeans which I didn’t want
and which don’t fit?
maybe if you had listened, instead of forever waffling about
your carefully manufactured troubles and
your chosen style of emptiness,
and saying
all I want is someone who loves me for myself,
you would have had more success;
but of course, if you had to listen, for even a second,
to somebody else,
it wouldn’t have been worth the stress.
The Daily Post #Generous
©Jane Paterson Basil
Agree
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Thank you! I though my readers may think I was being unfair, but I’m not…
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Not at all
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Beautiful…
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Thank you!
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Wonderful write. Love the soul you put into the words.
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Thank you! I wasn’t sure I’d get a positive reaction from this 🙂
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No, I completely feel you. Have to say I agree. There’s nothing like being truly understood. Seems many people do not know how to truly listen.
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The people around here stop lisening to me before I’ve finished the first sentence, even though I rarely try to speak.
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Oh I feel you. You are definitely not alone 🙂 Sometimes we just have to find the right audience. Keep at it, I enjoyed reading!
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You are the right audience, my friend 🙂
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I am more than happy then 🙂
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And I’ve just discovered that you, too, ahve a talent for poetry…
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I empathise. I’m forever telling people that expensive jewellery is wasted on me. I can’t tell a cubic zirconia from a diamond. I’d rather have the zirconia and £ 20 for the charity shop! I got a lot of expensive jewellery for my big birthday.
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That’s what I like to hear 🙂
I don’t wear any jewellery – it means nothing to me. I’d rather someone picked up an art deco jug, priced down because it has a chip in it – from a charity shop, naturally.
I have a weakness for jugs 🙂
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Yep, auction houses, car boot sales and charity shops are full of one-off treasures. They’re exciting places. I can see the appeal in an old chipped jug – the history!
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We understand each other 🙂
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Charity shops, or Op Shops as we call them here – are soooo interesting. I love browsing in them and have found many a unique treasure in them.
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I don’t even enjoy looking in ‘normal’ shops any more. Everything is so characterless without a secret history.
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It’s the commercialised mass marketing. Depersonalises everything unless you go to places where things are handmade and unique. But then the prices usually are too.
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If I had the money I’d happily pay for something real.
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Love this –
‘your carefully manufactured troubles and
your chosen style of emptiness,’
Such perfectly chosen words!
Nothing worse than someone throwing gifts around trying to impress, totally ignorant of the wants and needs of the person they’re giving to.
And don’t get me started on people too self involved to actually listen to what you have to say, people just waiting for a gap in the conversation so they can talk about themselves again. I have no room in my life for people like that.
A wonderfully strong piece with a great voice Jane.
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Presents and gifts are so often nasty in fairy tails. In our world not always innocuous as they seem. I especially loathe the gift of the thing that was specified as unwanted. Passive aggression with a bow on it.
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That’s a great way of describing it 🙂
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I completely missed out on this one! Your write ups are like blockbuster movies… Power packed!
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This poem was a little unfair; written about somebody who’s not bright enough to know any better – his brain doesn’t store much information – it was really aimed at my ex, who had an extreme talent for mind games.
Amongst other, more major crimes, he made sure I had no access to money, and chose my clothes for me, making sure they weren’t in my style – a great way to steal my sense of self, independance, and confidence.
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Everyone has to play the scapegoat some time or the other. At least he allowed you to vent. You must tell me your story. Your life has too many interesting characters in it.
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when I’m not so stressed…
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that’s fine. everything you write is just another piece in the puzzle. i am patient when i want to be 🙂
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Haha – I ‘m not sure I believe that 🙂
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Ur not sure I’m patient?? Aww 😦
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