MY DRESS

I wear this dress
that does not fit
around my neck
I cannot breathe
can barely sneeze
between my teeth
It gets so warm
with long sleeved arms
in the summer time
The shade of gloom
while flowers bloom
outside my room

This will not do.
This shade of gray-

I take off this dress
that does not fit
around my neck
Now I can breathe
and also sneeze
between my teeth
The tiny birds
they fly outside
the familiar cage
And naïve wings
slowly, softly open
to Beethoven’s lament.

This will not do
The preacher says-
This shade of gray.

Put back that dress
that chokes you
just around your neck
You should not breathe
nor sneeze
between your teeth
Kill the bird
that dare to fly
outside its cage
Where butterflies
succumb-
in nectar’s bed.