The blue nightgown
Can a simple dress become a coping mechanism?
—NPR August 18, 2020
So many years of misguided self-reflection,
examining every curve in the mirror! Alone,
locked down, I buy online three ice blue
nightgowns I discover I can live in. I glide
through living room, dining room, hall, off the floor
slightly; like the great opera stars of the 20th century,
I’m dressed for singing! My kitchen becomes the stage
of the Met. Cutting the garlic, my hand floats, my
large self floats; I breathe in & out, completely;
the blue nightgown floating around my ankles.
Copyright © 2021 by Toi Derricotte. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on February 11, 2021, by the Academy of American Poets.
“Isolated, cooking more and feeling bad about my ever-tightening jeans, writing ‘The blue nightgown’ was like imagining a new self, as if I was putting on a skin in which I felt expansive yet light, self-contented, beautiful and relaxed. As a woman of color, feeling comfortable in my skin involved a second kind of imagining. I needed models, so the majestic black opera stars Jessye Norman and Leontyne Price came along, invisibly propping me up! I believe that form should follow function, so I wanted the form to feel natural and easy.”
—Toi Derricotte
Toi Derricotte
The author of several books of poetry, Toi Derricotte is cofounder of Cave Canem, a national poetry organization committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of African American poets. She served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 2012 to 2017.