Cultured Fashion, by Therese Pidik

THERESE PIDIK

| An entry in the Crocodile Prize Poetry Awards

Grass skirt swayed away every fibre of its strand,
Paved way to miniskirt, latest fashion of today.

Tree barks woven no longer survive this time,
Fashion is packaged with hottest brand in town.

What use a comfort fit of tanget leaves and bark,
Now adornments of the past, only history can relate.

Each of these the traditional attires,
Of grandparents and forefathers.

Gave them recognition of their status in society,
For those generations, this culture had died with them.

We only know them now from the evidence
of history, either told or written.

Today is very different, and I blame one thing for that.
It was change chased them away, with the fashion of today.

I can embrace this change, but remember and appreciate,
That, they too, had their splendid fashion in their era.