The Friday Poem: Millennium taffeta, by Laura Vincent
Have a closet of dresses gathering dust? Roll, don’t fold or hang for best preservation (Image: Getty Images)
A new poem from poet and food writer Laura Vincent.
Millennium taffeta
all today’s ills point directly
to the paucity of purple taffeta shot through with blue
sewn into bandeau and a-line
it moved with a conspicuous rustle
what wouldn’t we have done for that fabric
which launched a thousand reputations
did you live through the unsparing dominance of the long torso with the low-rise denim?
American flags on every t-shirt and hoodie, a this you? just waiting to happen
misfired nostalgia can’t soften the acid wince at remembering those crocheted elastic headbands
or an over-reliance on board shorts
but millennium taffeta!
can you feel wistful for something you only saw other people wear?
I can still hear its shimmering whisper
every shade of purple and one for luck
when five of you ended up with the same ball dress
we simply gloried in the shapeshifting glimmer fivefold
for everyone’s sake let’s bring it back
it was the last time we held anything up to the light
The Friday Poem is edited by Chris Tse. Submissions are currently closed and will open again later this year.
Laura Vincent
Laura (Ngāti Māhanga) is a writer working on her first novel and a collection of poetry and short stories. She also writes a food blog, hungryandfrozen.com, and regular content for her Patreon patrons.
