The Lady Vanishes - 2025

The man I married always said he loved me for my mind Pretty soon I met his friends and left my own behind It wasn’t long before he said that ‘wife’ was short for ‘minion’ And then one day he raised his hand and told me my opinion He said he’d help me rectify the things I like to do My politics apparently were just ‘a point of view’ And women shouldn’t vote because they voted on a whim He offered up some new ideals that I should share with him So just zip, your lip… keep it shut Just smile and nod your head Keep it schtum, and bite your tongue Don’t die for things you said For looking nice, and keeping house And saying not a lot Means no black eyes nor bruises….. Perhaps… or maybe not I should have understood the skirt I’d worn to catch his eye Suggested I was anyone’s by showing too much thigh That skirt in purple satin which was split to tease the guys Now complemented perfectly… the purple ’round my eyes But once I’d learned my lesson and I recognised my flaws I truly tried to tell him, “I will be forever yours.” Of course I felt diminished, like a piece of me was gone But I decided I would self correct and just move on So just zip, your lip… keep it shut Just smile and nod your head Keep it schtum, and bite your tongue Don’t die for things you said For looking nice, and keeping house And saying not a lot Means no black eyes nor bruises….. Perhaps… or maybe not Funny, how that one decision left me three foot three But I had pledged my troth to him and he’d pledged his to me It must have been at least a week before I got a text It came from an old friend… I guess you know what happened next So just zip, your lip… keep it shut Just smile and nod your head Keep it schtum, and bite your tongue Don’t die for things you said For looking nice, and keeping house And saying not a lot Means no black eyes nor bruises….. Perhaps… or maybe not * “And so, My Lady, I stand here as an almost empty shell Yes, I reached into a drawer to send that man to hell But in my own defence I say that anyone can shrink Much further than our man made laws are preordained to think.” Mrs Justice Smith looked down upon me; now accused “There are so many women who are shackled and abused I understand so well how one can feel lost and bereft I shall not try this woman, for there is so little left.” * I left the courtroom free, although the verdict left me shook Until the judge, from in her car… gave me a knowing look. I left the courtroom free, although the verdict left me shook Until the judge, from in her car… gave me a knowing… look!