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In My Next Life, I Want to Be an Ad Man
I want to be donned in somehow. Donned in everything. Donned in
the forgotten and the ecclesiastics of sex. Drape me in the charged. Drape me
in the raptured. Drape me in meaning and keep it private. I want two
lives: one in the city and one in the country. Two women: a blonde and a
redhead. Drape me in wealth. Drape me in booze. Don me in diamonds
and fur. Drape a secretary, here, and then, there.
[Executive is the word that comes to the lips
and they smile for you, sister.]
Don me in designer suits. Don me in a new age. Don me in what’s coming.
Drape the future round my shoulders. Drape the next life across my lap.
Drape me in the madness. Don me in the twoness of passion. Don me in
pieces of last, of force; pieces of shaken and possible then drape me
in manhood. Drape me in machinery and steel. Don me in utterly and plush
utterings and, [do I sound like I’m stuttering?] Make me look good; the
world is dangerous.
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Leah Umansky is the author of three books of poems, most recently Of Tyrant, forthcoming from The Word Works in 2024. She is currently working on a hybrid-memoir called Delicate Machine, an exploration of womanhood, hope, and heart in the face of grief and a global pandemic. She earned her MFA in Poetry at Sarah Lawrence College and has curated and hosted The COUPLET Reading Series in NYC since 2011. Her creative work can be found in such places as The New York Times, Poetry, The Bennington Review, and Guesthouse. She can be found at www.leahumansky.com or @leah.umansky on IG.
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Don Draper, collage by Borbay
yes, let me be an image--where nothing hurts anymore.
Posted by: Grace Cavalieri | March 05, 2023 at 09:59 AM
More and more and more delicious emptiness.
But I like it.
Posted by: Doug Pell | March 05, 2023 at 10:18 AM
...And then let me teach the world to sing. Good poem !!! thanks !!!
Posted by: Jack Skelley | March 05, 2023 at 10:21 AM
Great poem and accompanying collage of Don Draper is a perfect illustration.
Posted by: Eileen | March 05, 2023 at 11:34 AM
What fun! Clever as the nest ads are!!
Posted by: Clarinda | March 05, 2023 at 11:59 AM
"Mad Man" enthusiast that I am, I love the poem's wonderful wit and the great Don Draper collage.
Posted by: David Lehman | March 05, 2023 at 12:28 PM
Yes! Great poem! Makes me want to revisit the series. Brilliant revelations throughout.
Posted by: Denise Duhamel | March 05, 2023 at 12:40 PM
"Don me in / pieces of last, of force..." I love where this poem takes us, including the great interruption of the question about stuttering. There's force here for sure. A nice pick of an interesting poet and poem.
Posted by: Don Berger | March 05, 2023 at 12:48 PM
Definitely.
Posted by: Susan Campbell | March 06, 2023 at 05:35 AM