too short


your mother tugs at your
skirts, she calls them,
"too short!
it's beyond me how
any decent woman
could show so much skin!"

     apparently, the baked chicken
wears more clothes than you do.  so
you spend an entire afternoon
sewing patches and buttons to
every skirt you own.  finally,
you ask, "is this enough?"

     she exclaims, "too motley!"
a night of watching 60 minutes,
reporting on the prevalence
of domestic violence, is lost.
instead, you painstakingly match
the colors of each fabric to
cut and resew
the horrid contraptions of
clothing.

     shown to her now,
at last she says, "that looks fine, dear,"
but in the morning
when you attempt to wear these clothes,
they simply don't fit.

so out come the familiar shears
to raise the hems.  and in the afternoon,
when you are back from school,
your mother shrills,
"too short!"


--jennifer crystal chien