Poet Ann Grogan reads her poem "The Little Gold Dress."
The Little Gold Dress by Ann Grogan
Yuja Wang. Need I say more?
A music-loving friend and I
Came to blows about her short dress–
Antipathy toward it, he refused to hide.
“Unsuitable for a pianist!” he insistently declared.
Beyond the edge he could tolerate,
Beyond concert decency as defined in his head,
And leading to loathing, perhaps even hate?
I pondered the fervor with which a gold dress,
Mini in style, as Wang often wears,
Showing gorgeous slim legs and wearing stilettos,
Engendered his ire. As if anyone should care?
Such technical command! Such absolute precision!
(Though one might complain of too much perfection?)
My curiosity piqued, I read with amusement
The raging debate over Wang’s image presentation.
But “times are a-changin'” as Dylan shrewdly said,
And styles, they must flow and not be mechanical.
The dress kerfuffle clearly boils down in the end
To nothing more or less than a history puritanical!
Oh yes. Don’t forget that men like to tell us
How to dress and think and behave, no less.
So ladies, just ignore any misguided ire,
And pursue your own version of Wang’s little gold dress!