Imagism: Nightmarish Poem by Caryl Ramsdale

At a salon of tall walls
Exhibiting fine works of art
Mysteriously an orange haired lady
Began to appear.

Modeling exquisite, fashionable, Victorian gowns
In paintings
Taking midday tea
Attending balls at eventide.

And all the while in every scene
The orange haired lady
Looked just like me
A mirror image, a doppelganger, a twin.

Lost in memory
While wondering ‘bout the likeness of me
Colors of the seasons, the rainy weather,
The small Irish lass;

All seemed to me a happy time
Where I felt comfortable
Once
But she’s not me.

I know I’m not from the nineteenth century
Yet, methinks
Once there lived a double
Had orange hair like me.


(2011)