clout (clothing) poem #1
may is here I’m missing my
elderly friend jessie with her
crown of white hair and spritely
ways lived on a farm in dorset
she frequently quoted her mum
(“ketchup is an insult to the cook”)
(“men are a necessary nuisance”)
one quote was an old english rhyme:
“ne’er cast a clout till may be out”
we debated its meaning – do we
not mothball our woolies till
the month be over this fits with
dips in english weather I like jessie’s
other reasoning better we can cast
our clouts when the hawthorne, the
may tree, blossoms the madrigals
agree it’s in the month of maying
that each lad is with his bonny lass
upon the greeny grass and how many
clouts think you they’re wearing
2012 Jacqueline Jackson
This article appears in May 10-16, 2012.
