An Ode, Inspired by Olds

Jetset Jenna writes:

Sitting between Martinique and Nikkolina at the Sharon Olds poetry reading at NYU last week made me feel like I'd landed in writer heaven. Okay, so there was no free food (not even hummus), no free Zinfandel and no free t-shirts. But we were there for the poems. We were ready to be wowed by the woman some say is the greatest American poet alive today. And they may be right. Sharon Olds is da bomb. She rocks the English language hard. She's funny, generous and brave. She writes about her painful childhood, the complexity of relationships, and odes to all sorts of things, like tampons and condoms. Sharon Olds has inspired me to write an ode. It's called:

"Ode to the Jeans That Make My Ass Look Hot"

Thank you
Jeans that make my ass look hot
For holding up your end of the deal
The others
Tri-folded beneath you
High hopes, but nope
There's no fooling the ruling class
Dark droopy denim
Causing disappointed double-takes
Powder blue too tight
Camel lips all night
Not in fashion since '92
But not you
Perfection in shape and stitch
Color of a blue-grey sky
Like wet streets
Houston
or Delancey
After a morning rain
There's a stain
I can forgive
Because the backside
Is where the action is
Where the wear is what is best
Pert, maybe, not quite
But thanks to you
Round and snug
Like two lovely pillows
For sitting on