Poetry Pick of the Day: Objets D'Art

April is National Poetry Month, so I'll be posting some of my favorite poems over the next few weeks. I used to send this poem to my chick friends, especially after a breakup.
This one has a dual purpose. I actually wanted to link to it from the Nature's Child blog, but I couldn't find it online. I found others by the author online, but it's puzzling: this one was nowhere to be found.

Objets D'Art by Cynthia Macdonald

When I was seventeen, a man in the Dakar Station
Men's Room (I couldn't read the signs) said to me:
You're a real ball cutter. I thought about that
For months and finally decided
He was right. Once I knew that was my thing,
Or whatever we would have said in those days,
I began to perfect my methods. Until then
I had never thought of trophies. Preservation
Was at first a problem: pickling worked
But was a lot of trouble. Freezing
Proved to be the answer. I had to buy
A second freezer just last year; the first
Was filled with rows and rows of
Pink and purple lumps encased in Saran wrap.

I have more business than I can handle,
But only volunteers. It is an art like hypnosis
Which cannot be imposed on the unwilling victim.
If you desire further information about the process and
The benefits, please drop in any night from nine to twelve.
My place is east of Third on Fifty-sixth.
You'll know it by the three gold ones over the door.


Wait a second. I guess it's not so puzzling I couldn't easily find that. But shouldn't it be on the NOW site page or something? The Ani Difranco Web site? The badass sassy feminist page? Oh, wait...now it is.