We Wore Dresses Reviewed by Ynna Padilla
We Wore Dresses by Marilyn Bushman-Carlton is a collection of poems illustrating the life of a Latter-day Saint woman. Bushman-Carlton covers motherhood, friendship, nostalgia of childhood, and the daily mundanities composing our existences with poems about each phase of her life from girlhood to becoming a grandmother.
The first few poems, “We Wore Dresses,” “Girl’s Gym,” “Thin,” and “Desire,” detail the specific experiences of growing up. In “Thin,” Bushman-Carlton describes the nearly universal experience of wanting a different body.
“I wanted to be thin
like Audrey Hepburn, with hips dangerous as blades,
like Jackie Kennedy, shoulders cutting through a crowd.
Most of all, I wanted to be thin like Twiggy.”
“Desire” pokes fun at the conflicting ideologies of pursuing a life of purity while regularly sitting through lessons about the importance of living a life worthy of a partner to a handsome priesthood holder.
“We stand all amazed
at pictures of David’s muscled arms,
Samson’s flowing sun-livened hair,
Nephi’s thigh grazing pelt.”
Bushman-Carlton then moves into the uniquely feminine experiences of motherhood. “Irresistible Burdens” recounts new parenthood and the reliance babies and toddlers have on their parents.
“Then jammies
over the irresistible burdens of their abandoned bodies,
their delicious relentless helplessness
that defined our then young lives.”
She gracefully articulates the distinct heartbreak of witnessing her own children struggle in their relationships and the delicate balance of providing support and autonomy. In “The Beginning of Us,” she writes,
“He was her best friend,
and she hasn’t needed me for years.
But here she is wanting
anything I can give her.”
In contrast to this moment of providing empathy for an older daughter, in “Watching ‘The Elephant Man,’” she describes the quiet joy felt when her son asks to watch a movie with her and the organic way he seeks her guidance. “It isn’t often now / that he comes to me, / but it’s natural when he does.”
The collection concludes with a number of poems about being a grandmother and mature woman. Like the rest of the collection, Bushman-Carlton alternates between serious and humorous, reminding readers of the many emotions that accompany the best and worst times of our lives. We Wore Dresses is a thorough journey highlighting the struggles and great joys of womanhood.
Ynna Padilla is a speech-language pathologist living in Seattle, Washington. She enjoys reading novels, surfing, tennis, and Pilates. Book Rec: On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle
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