The Abandoned Doll

An ekphrastic poem inspired by “The Abandoned Doll” by Suzanne Valadon*

by Lisa Molina


My precious Mimi lies on the floor,
beckoning me to pick her up and
hold her to my now-budding breasts.

I haven’t abandoned her.

Mama says I am no longer a child.
That it is time for me to
put childish things away.

As she dries my back,
I look into the mirror.

Is it me                                                                                               
or Mama
that I see?

I don’t know anymore.

I do know this:

Just as my back is turned
to Mama in this moment,
it shall be forever turned.

If I’m no longer a child,
and not yet a woman,
I am alone in this world.

No more will I allow
Mama to hold me
close to her breasts,

if I am not permitted
to love my Mimi, as
I have so many years.

I now see the
pretty pink bow
on my head
in the mirror.

Mimi also wears
the bow I lovingly
made and tied on
her long ago.

So-

After Mama goes to sleep,
I shall pick up Mimi
off of the floor,
and walk to the river,

where I’ll give her one
final hug so tight
that it will be painful
to my swollen breasts.

Then, I will kiss her
on her cheek
and say goodbye,
as I place her in

the flowing waters
along with my
own childish
pink bow.

I’ll watch as my
beloved Mimi
and pretty pink bow
float down the

moving and
constantly-changing
river, until I can no
longer see them.

I will not cry.
Only children cry.

Rather, I shall
smile to myself,

knowing they are
floating freely

to the land of
forever-childhood.


* * * * *

*Here is a link to “The Abandoned Doll” by Suzanne Valadon: https://nmwa.org/art/collection/abandoned-doll/

Lisa Molina's "The Abandoned Doll" was originally published in The Ekphrastic Review.

Lisa Molina is a writer/educator in Austin, Texas. She has two chapbooks forthcoming in 2022, published by Fahmidan Publishing & Co and Sledgehammer Literary Journal. She has twice been chosen as a winner of the Beyond Words Magazine 250-Word Creative Writing Challenge. Her poetry has been published in both print and online publications, including Writing in a Woman’s Voice, Fahmidan Journal, Beyond Words Magazine, Trouvaille Review, Neologism Poetry Journal, The Ekphrastic Review, The Daily Drunk, and Amethyst Review. When not writing, reading, or hiking, she can be found working with high school students with special needs.