Dancing Dust
	Poems by Mollie Caird (1922-2000)
	Il scherzoso
Home Alphabetic index of poems Thematic index of poems Biography Gallery Contact and links	Hence, loathèd maxi-coat, Of Saint-Laurent and Queen Victoria born In discothèque forlorn, Mid horrid scream and shriek and bawling throat, Find out some uncouth flick Where Clyde and Bonnie make the bullets sing, Or suffragettes let fling; There under straggling locks and great hat-brims As droopy as thy hems, In earnest dowdiness forever stick. But stay, thou garment neat and pert, Thou brisk, familiar mini-skirt, Thy graceful flare above the knee Sweet symbol of the truly free. We middle-aged would gladly shear An inch or two off every year: No waste in that ― the clipped-off ends Made neckties for our sons and friends. But now comes maxidom ― alack! We cannot glue those inches back. Must we throw all our clothes away Because the maxi's come to stay, To keep at bay, both fore and aft, The draught, but not the overdraft? Wolf-whistles will be heard no more, But wolves will scratch at every door. In 1969 the 5-year reign of the mini-skirt came to an end. Oxford Times, 5 December 1969 The Dancing Dust and other poems, 1983