WHAT YOU DO BEST
by Liz Worth
You have a reputation;
a working girl doesn’t get much sleep,
heels lilting before the sun.
Rivals: dream, the heart.
How do you make time for the depths,
blue smoke, the momentum of rest.
You’ve said your anthem is a
phase of the moods.
To be inside, inspired.
Connect again; your spirituality
self-proclaimed.
It’s too hot to bond,
gossip gathered on the front,
fond shade.
Sickness, beloved;
the lack of faith a stable motion.
Something else might fall out.
What it’s like to have things,
all things –
just live by that,
what you do best.
SOURCE: “Country Music Legend Dolly Parton,” Country Woman magazine ( Aug / Sept 2014).
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I picked Dolly Parton for this project because she is just so kick-ass. Whether you’re a fan of her music or not, it’s hard to deny her success. She’s had a prolific career that has branched out far beyond country music, from charity work to her theme park. But what’s always really impressed me about her was her perspective. Every time I hear a quote from her it just seem so right on. Even though when I put her words through my filter they come out kind of sad (because that’s my style, I guess!) I can’t help but feel uplifted and inspired by her. She’s an unlikely icon for a spooky girl like me but there’s something about her that I think is really cool.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Liz Worth is a Toronto-based author. Her debut book, Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond, was the first to give an in-depth account of Toronto’s early punk scene. Liz’s first poetry collection, Amphetamine Heart, was released in 2011, and her first novel, PostApoc, was released in October 2013. She has also rewritten Andy Warhol’s a: A Novel as poetry. You can reach her at www.lizworth.com.
Silver Birch Press 