Holly Zeeb
I watched her
fling and tie
those scarves
so gracefully,
magically,
to adorn
her beautiful
shining head,
as if doves
might flutter forth.
Her steady voice
was gentle,
reassuring,
as if it were
an easy thing
to twist a length
of flowing rayon,
form a peach rosette,
wear a crown
of radiant health.
Three times
I watched that DVD,
gathered gorgeous
scarves from friends,
tried and failed
to imitate her flair,
finally turned to hats.
Maybe in the next life.
When she died,
I knew those
elegant scarves
flew after her
like wings.
About the poet:
Holly Zeeb is a recently retired psychologist in the Boston area who writes, gardens, sings, cycles and spends time with family in Maine. “Through thirty-five years of writing poetry I’ve tried to see more clearly, to protest, to preserve and to let go.” Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies and in a chapbook, White Sky Raining.
About the poem:
“A friend gave me the DVD after my surgery and before my chemotherapy. We had dinner together and then tried to imitate the beautiful woman on the DVD. We were laughing at our all-thumbs efforts while at the same time we were anticipating my bald head. Surreal. Black humor.”
Poetry editors:
Johanna Shapiro and Judy Schaefer
4 thoughts on “Scarves: a DVD”
So poignant and touching. Having gone through cancer twice, can relate to it.
“finally turned to hats.” A wonderfully honest, lyric statement of resignation, without a hint of capitulation. Do what you can, and move on. So artfully crafted and shared. Thank you.
Wonderful poem! When a friend of mine was losing her hair through chemo the grown daighter of an Egyptian friend made a vodeo of how she created her own very beautiful headdress….I think this was in the hijab category but more elaborate. It was kind of her and helpful to my friend. This poem brings me back to that time. Thankfully, my friend is still alive.
Dear Holly
This comes your way with much admiration.Black or not, Humour goes a long way to allow you to get a glimpse into your own life from the outside as you are no longer indulging in self-pity.it certainly helps to add a dash of “crimson” to your “Blues”which magically transforms into a “silver linning”.some may refer to it as the “saving grace”.your poetry, I must say flows pretty effortlessly unlike your attempts at the scarves tieing. I wish you all the best in life. A special note of thanks to your friend who presented you the DVD and the ones that joined in the ceramony to make it fun.I think they are as brave and must care about you a lot.
Thank God for such friends!