Do Not Go Dowdy
by Josa Keyes
March 2024
A poem for International Women’s Day.
Do Not Go Dowdy
Do not go dowdy into that dark night
Style does not fade near close of play
Dance, sing, embrace the flying light
Wise women shun the rules, take flight.
With years consumed by work and young, they
Shall not go dowdy into that dark night
Good women catch a wave in bright sunlight
Bikini-clad and plunging through the bay
They dance, sing, embrace the flying light
Wild willful women catch the joy in flight
Wear green satin, roam the world, make hay
Feed on honeydew before that last dark night
Bright girls, brave women, with deep insight
Their eyes not blinded by convention
They give no quarter, grab the flying light
And you, my mother, now so far from sight
Bless me with your style, your grace, I pray
You did not go dowdy into that dark night
You joyfully embraced the flying of the light
