Mae

Beneath the

satin brash

I was soft silk.

I divided myself

into winks and

plump lips to fool

fools who thought

I was without a brain.

Take away

the blond, the breasts

the give, the take,

and you would have seen

the lock, the key,

the when, the why

to the me few could see.

I once had Eden, but

The Big Apple bit me.

The Catholics didn’t

like my either/or.

Life was great.

Life was bad.

Fame took

what it wanted.

I gave it all I had.

I let the world

see satin brash

when beneath

I was soft silk.

©Susie Clevenger 2015

Process note:

Mae West was famous for her double entendre. In a radio sketch titled The Garden of Eden on NBC Mae was cast as Eve and the actor, Don Ameche, as Adam. At one point in the dialogue she told Ameche to "get me a big one...I feel like doin' a big apple!" The reference was to a then-current dance craze. The day after the broadcast, the studio received letters calling the show "immoral" and "obscene." Women's clubs and Catholic groups admonished the show's sponsor, Chase & Sanborn Company, for "prostituting" their services and allowing "impurity" to invade the air. Wikipedia

NaPoWriMo ~ Day 19
Real Toads ~ Going Halvsies!