Cautionary Tale

Cautionary Tale I won't, with your girdles and hose, And your men slow as bears I'll be your cautionary tale Blank space, white noise, go til the paint runs dry When it doesn't work sometimes you know but you don't know why Yellow jumping, blue going, it comes together then it's there It takes time, it's not fast, no you don't get a hit fast on that And I'm thinking, So you fail-why don't you have a good time? I don't know, the painting rests, won't end til it stops asking questions Fine sweets, You're a spoiled girl. You want it all ways But I won't... How annoying, I keep saying things are like other things There seems no help for it, the light work of a poet Do you have many defenses-ha!-can you ever have enough? Observing from my high cliff, the wind is fierce the coast is rough And memories of loneliness, the loneliness of being born Trial and error, watchful sight, the years it took to get it right And I drank Til my face was blue Wouldn't you? You think you can? It's a tough life Not for the faint of heart. What you look at hard looks hard back at you With judgement and pity-can your soul bear such scrutiny? Everything seemed like something else, bits of the world slipped into place One has fight but is full of fear, one has none but is brave Who would you rather sit beside, which one will take you by the hand? What can't but must I recognize, everywhere my thoughts grow wild and What of these others, these serious ones? Listen, we did our best Acts of failure and of trust, stars without light hold the others up Still I sat At the feet of men Fair witness But I won't, with your girdles and hose And your men full of air I'll be your cautionary tale For Joan Mitchell, Elizabeth Bishop, Fanny Howe, final verse quotes from Love and I