Role Model

by Jeannie E. Roberts

French twist earrings fitted shirt necklace high heels pencil

skirt these were the days of mirrors and smoke

when lipstick shone its lustrous coat and dimpled blonde

placed special worth on outer more than inner birth

a glimpse a glance a mite's eye view of roles cast and reigns

ensued where masks and makeup played it dumb

and diets were the rule of thumb when woman's place

was in the home not to venture nor to roam where cleaner

cooker servile lamb had shades of jail and fifties sham

a glimpse a glance a mite's eye view what we see may not

be true skewed and colored what we think could well be blue

instead of pink we can't predict life's twists and turns

how it thrives or how it burns how a blossom dipped in nice

solidifies to shards of ice a glimpse a glance a mite's

eye view what we see may not be true skewed and colored

what we think could well be blue instead of pink

you made your way with gifts and grace showed tenderness

and fond embrace for pets and creatures large and small

gave selflessly but most of all you never ventured never roamed

you never left this place called home

* * * * *

Jeannie E. Roberts has authored six books, including The Wingspan of Things (Dancing Girl Press, 2017), Romp and Ceremony (Finishing Line Press, 2017), Beyond Bulrush (Lit Fest Press, 2015), and Nature of it All (Finishing Line Press, 2013). She is also author and illustrator of Rhyme the Roost! A Collection of Poems and Paintings for Children (Daffydowndilly Press, an imprint of Kelsay Books, 2019) and Let's Make Faces! (author-published, 2009). Her work appears in print and online in North American and international journals and anthologies. She holds a B.S. in secondary education, M.A. in arts and cultural management, and is poetry editor of the online literary magazine Halfway Down the Stairs. When she’s not reading, writing, or editing, you can find her drawing and painting, or outdoors photographing her natural surroundings.