Grandiosity

A performance that outlasts the body.

I was the fastest sprinter in my school,
had the highest grades.

Did you ever see my father's car?

Look at my handbag,
it is a real Gucci,
so soft but firm.
That's crocodile.

I've been just about everywhere.

Did I tell you that I was a personal friend of Mikhail Baryshnikov?
He was such a gentleman,
marvelous dancer too.

Oh, and meet my dog,
Coco Chanel.
I just had her groomed.
Isn't she exquisite?
Yes, that is a pearl-studded collar.

Fun fact,
not only do I speak Russian and French and English,
but I'm learning Italian and Chinese.

Several years of cold gray winter,
illness,
old age,
walkers,
wheelchairs,
wigs.

Her eyes were now covered by Prada glasses.

My dear,
come here.
Did I ever tell you?
She beckoned with her perfectly manicured ruby red forefinger.

A poem by Pemba Umoja