ABCs of Women's Work by Kathleen Kirk

Poetry
52 pages
6" x 6" single signature with hand sewn binding
Published December 2015

From the Designer, Dana Hoeschen:

I love this collection and understand why Jenny chose it. The poems are strong and direct reflections and rejections of traditional roles and values, with a sympathetic, not maudlin view of the variance in experience and reality of women. There is humor, irony, not a little frustration, and very little anger in the collection. There is perseverance, conviction, and determination, with a strong underlying sense of self worth. "How to Jump Through Hoops" is another tiger poem. And a good one. I'd say it pretty much sums up the tenor of the collection.

How to Jump Through Hoops

First, become a tiger.
Yes, tooth and claw but also the natural striping.
Next, imagine the fire.
It’s just a circle now, a series of circles,
one after the other, and looks harmless.
It isn’t.
It’s fire.
Walk daily around the cage
to develop your haunches.
Sleep heavily. Eat what you are given.
Ignore the jibes of the children,
the roustabouts, the crowds
with their red-and-white striped boxes.
Trust your own coloring.
Circle the ring quickly,
hearing the whip snap in the air
beside you. It won’t touch you.
If it does, bite off the hand that holds it.
You know the hoops now,
where they stand, in what order.
Find the still point of each
and touch it with the swift air
of your absence.