The Naked Empress
There is nothing more ironic
Than a topless, bare-assed monarch,
Cloth to skin intolerable,
Born again as a stripper
Happily parading the town,
Whom the people see
As fully dressed
In a worsted business suit.
Overlooked
By the masses
As if locked in a
Monogrammed briefcase
Are garments
Smeared with period blood
And childbirth stains,
Shredded,
Overlaid with the pages
Of yesteryears’ tabloid news,
Thankfully cast-off and
Thrown into the squeaky,
Crooked-wheeled shopping cart.
A palatial
Penthouse apartment–
In the public’s eyes–
Is really the shelter
Of the open sky,
And with nowhere to go,
Although by choice,
Sometimes there is
Nothing to do but
Become the cold,
Match the rain,
Or rival the heat,
Like the weather
in its natural course.
The populace, it seems,
Blankets itself in delusion
To hide from
And comfort itself.
© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2010.
Rich, beautiful, and raw, Sweepy. Your images are so intense to me it is comfortingly uncomfortable to read.
Thank you so much, Lisa, for taking the time to read it and for seeing value in it.
Hey there.. Will you tell me what this is about? I’m not sure I”m pulling from it what you’re sharing. Is this about women giving up motherhood for the corporate world?
That’s actually an interesting interpretation, Justice. I’m a fan of readers coming to their own conclusions, although I hope that my intended meaning is clear! Actually, I think traditional poetry tries to turn everything into a metaphor but I have a different philosophy about that. But maybe I’m so straightforward I’m confusing! Lol
What I was trying to say is here’s a woman who has newly decided to live her life (emotionally) naked; the stained and tattered clothes she shed, which essentially are in full view in an open shopping cart, represent a past emotional life hard lived; she’d rather live out in the open, in the streets so to speak, rather than be confined to living in a traditional abode, even if that means having to brave the elements.
But the people, the masses, the public,the populace rather imagine her as clothed; they’d rather ignore her shredded and stained rags; they don’t want to accept that she is “homeless” because that reality is uncomfortable. In the last stanza, I further go on to say that the masses don’t want to see the truth about themselves.
I hope that makes things clearer.
very strong poetry, amazing imagery and after your explanation i can’t help wondering how much depth you have put in so few words.
Thanks so much!
elegantly written…with greater depth in the words that reflect the inner meaning and emotions from deep down the heart….. wonderful write