Bespoke Poem by Sheena Blackhall

A visit to the Milliner's off Chapel Street
Mother was ordering a bespoke creation
Headgear commissioned by Madame

What to include?
Silks, veiling, ribbons and bows?
Sprays, beads, furs and feathers?
What to wear for the kirk,
For parents'evenings
Family weddings?

Long deliberations,
Fingerings of fabric

It would smell of powder
Of female scents
A cloche, perhaps, with additions?

I liked dad's flat cap best
It smelt of leather, honest sweat, hill air