Ten Great Gifts for the Woman Who Has Nothing
I thought you might like to see one of Jennifer Bullis‘s poems from Impossible Lessons. This is one that really leapt off the page for me, partly a function of the repetition (and notice the anklet, bracelet, circlet, newly…).
Ten Great Gifts for the Woman Who Has Nothing
For the journey out, figs.
Fig leaves
for carrying the blame.
A womb, and a man
worthy to name it.
Another rib and even more backbone.
The pomegranate, secrets still intact.
Anklet of snakeskin, woven bracelet of grass.
A circlet of worry
for her newly conscious brow,
for her hair still smelling
of blossoms and smoke.
*Your assignment is to write your own list of gifts. Imagine what gifts you need that you haven’t yet imagined.
I am reading Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. This poem fits perfectly.
Thank you for the cameo, Bethany! And I love the prompt you’ve created from the poem.