CONSIDER THE RED CLOAK
We must consider, as a red cloak suits a young man, what suits an old one;
for the same garment is not suitable for both.
"The Poetics"Aristotle and I go shopping at Bloomingdales.
It is one of those sales when everything
is seventy per cent off and if you don’t grab the stuff first
and decide later if it suits you, you’ll lose the opportunity.
So we come home, totally blown,
with a dozen robes between us,
a bottle-green pantsuit, some tight dresses,
a pale cashmere sweater, and a red cloak.
Aristotle wants to try it all on at once...
he’s such a dandy...and begins dreaming,
immediately, of where he will wear each treasure.
The cloak is perfect for tonight’s lecture,
he declares. It gives me character. Listen, Dear,
I try to remind him of his own philosophies,
there is the matter of proportion.
Your size, your age, your dignity...
Stay out of this sister, he explodes.
Some needs go beyond the rules.