Venice masks

Sunday 14 May 2017

Civilised Girl - Jully Makini

Cheap perfume
Six-inch heels
Skin-tight pants
Civilised girl

Steel-wool hair
Fuzzy and stiff
Now soft as coconut husk
Held by a dozen clips

Charcoal-black skin
Painted red
Bushy eyebrows
Plucked and penciled

Who am I?
Melanesian Caucasian or
Half-caste?
Make up your mind

Where am I going -
Forward, backward, still?
What do I call myself -
Mrs Miss or Ms?

Why do I do this?
Imitation
What's wrong with it?
Civilisation

Jully Makini (also Jully Sipolo) (born 1953) Solomon Islands
Source: BBC Radio Scotland

14 comments:

  1. Thank you for this find.

    ReplyDelete
  2. i am a student and we are now studying the poem... i found so much in the poem, and i am really looking forward in writing a poem like this of my own to be used in schools..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good luck with that joemae... I hope you also enjoy studying the poem, which I agree has a lot in it

      Delete
  3. By Reading this poem gives me more understanding on how to write a poem.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really like this poem cos it motivates me to write more poem like this in the future

    ReplyDelete
  5. this poem made me feel bad when i was in a high school, especially the steel wool and everything that is backstabbing in it. but i love it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This poem has a deep meaning in it that portray what we see become common in our societies today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can u explain the meaning to me please

      Delete
    2. Can you explain the meaning to me please

      Delete
  7. I like this poem

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this poem it gives a flame🔥

    ReplyDelete

Please keep your comments relevant and free from abusive language. Thank you. Note that comments are moderated so it may be a day or two before your comment is posted - irrelevant or abusive comments will not be published.