Two Centos and Three Jane Poems

Abstract

Two Centos and Three Jane Poems Jennifer Habel (bio) J Is for Judgment a cento Father came to-day Father wenthome to-day Father's tremendously tall Father's always so just Fatherreally lets me do anything I like Father gave me a splendid parasolwith a flowered border Father knows nearly all languageseven Czech Father was in a towering rage Father has anew tweed suit which becomes him splendidly Father was awfully jollyand we pelted one another with pine-cones [End Page 236] In most things Father isjustice itself Father laughed Father laughed heartily I was in such a temperand then Father said, "Come, come, you little witch, cool your wrath"Father always calls me "Little Witch" (I don't much like itwhen other people are there) Father says that that is awfully sillyand no longer suitable Father won't let us sit in the hall alone I can't think whyFather said, "Poor little witch it's very lonely for you now"Father never cries A beard suits Father and I can't imaginehim without Father says I was born under a lucky starFather has been made Appeal Court Judge I should have liked awfully to ask Fathera lot more but I did not dare Besides the ring Father gave mea lovely black pearl necklace [End Page 237] Father also gave mea box of delicious sweets It's not nice of Fatherto tease me about my diary I suppose he never kept one himself Father lifted me right upinto the air as if I had still been a little girl Father did not say muchbut I fancy he's very much annoyed Father was shouting Father is stillfurious Father makes a great mistake I rushed to Father and said: "Please Fatherdon't be so frightfully angry" I knocked at Father's door and gave himthe promised kiss I threw my arms round Father and promised himon my word of honour I don't like fibbing to Father but I really had toFather laughed like anything at my "combinations" I never could have believed that Father wouldbe just like anyone else Father is quite unconcerned Father sayswe must wait and see [End Page 238] P Is for Pedestal a cento I wore a white leotard in that part, which is the most exposed that you can get, a white leotard and nothing else. And then there was the short, tight, fluffy, white tutu, enhancing everything and hiding nothing, the white flowered bikini top and bottom. He dressed me in white for twenty years. I realized that I could leave the stage only on the stage. The curtain rose again and again, and I was showered with white roses. He had so often sent me white roses. I stood in my white satin gown on the center of the stage. I also wore a pair of long white gloves. [End Page 239] Questions on Jane's Birthday Is her ring finger really her weakest?Who put Barbie in the bathroom drawer?Is it true she remembers every one of her mother's insults?If so, are they relatively few?To whom is she praying when she prays to her children?Will she share with them the raspberries she's hidden?Is her inability to pretend a fault or a virtue?How long is forty-four years? [End Page 240] S Is for Shame If a child needs a band-aid and his mother doesn't have oneJane has one. It is deep in the zippered compartment of her purse, its wrapperworn as an old dollar. Matches, bottle opener, tweezers, ibuprofen.Nail file, bug spray, chapstick, sunblock. Jane never did buy the tool to breakher sinking car's window. Whatever happened to her swiss army knifewith all its clever integrity? Simone's dad is earlyfor Ballet pickup. Is this, he asks, a refugee camp for mothers? [End Page 241] Basic Reader [End Page 242] Jennifer Habel Jennifer Habel is the author of Good Reason, winner of the Stevens Poetry Manuscript Competition...