"The Forgotten Dresses" by Dana Robbins

The Forgotten Dresses

When either of my sisters had a date,
she would pouf her hair, put on a dress —
perhaps scarlet satin or lavender floral —
then make a grand entrance down the six stairs
to the living room of our small, pretty house.
My father took pictures; my mother clapped
hands, sang, “Here she is, Miss America.”

I, a decade younger than they were, dreamed
that one day I too would be so glamorous. 
When my sisters left home for college,
then marriage, I inherited their old room. 
They left their dresses behind as they sported
new styles: bell-bottoms, peasant clothes
to go with their now long, straight hair.

In my big, new room, I slipped the forgotten
dresses on over my flat, pudgy chest, inhabited
them, tried to find the cure for loneliness
in my own reflection.

Dana robbins

Dana Robbins obtained an MFA from the Stonecoast Writers Program of the University of Southern Maine after a long career as a lawyer. Her books of poetry, The Left Side of My Life, After the Parade, and Frida’s Boots, were published by Moon Pie Press of Westbrook, Maine, in 2015, 2020, and 2022 respectively. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in many journals and anthologies, including DASH Literary Journal, Euphony Journal, Flights, California Quarterly, Calyx, Mount Hope Magazine, The Phoenix, Perceptions, Pennsylvania English, Poetica Magazine, Moth Magazine, Poydras Review, Saint Ann’s Review, SLAB, Steam Ticket, Visitant, and Zone 3.

Headshot: Stephen Gleit

Photo Credit: Staff