Wow Gryphon...you really surprised me with the last stanza!  You took this somewhere I wasn't headed at all (I've been reading too much Keats I think, if that's possible)...

 

I love the way this discourages the iconic worship of the ideal...I thought you were going to point to the fact that the reality is more than sufficient (which ultimately you do)...but the ending leaves a bitter taste...

 

Am I misreading?  Even if I am...this is powerful to me...Thanks, J

oh my word, i also thought it was going to end differently. i got the same feel as you did jen, i think its supposed to leave that bitter taste at the end.

 

gryphon i loved it, very moving

Wow! What might have been a lovely (but forgettable) poem in praise of woman turned into an indelible one at the end. What could be more stunning than the contrast between the first 3/4 and the last 1/4? You show woman as the precious phenomenon she is, then show how she is tossed away by shoddy opinion which values the things she is not more than the things she is.

Belle, you nailed what I was trying to say in this poem!  

 

Many folks who've read this poem of mine have also commented on the "bitter" aftertaste.  That was not my intention.  Irony was what I was reaching for.....   

 

I do not consider myself a "Feminist" or a "Women's Libber."  When other women were striving for "equality," I rebelled!  IMO, why give up superiority for equality? 

 

Much of my Poetry is written when I have the "Blues...."  For some reason unknown to me, the Muses visit me more then, than they do when I'm euphoric.... 

 

Thank you all for your nice comments.  I'll post more of my Poetry since you appreciate it.