The Kimono

By Victoria Howell

I am a colorful and exquisitely beautiful robe

I wonder where I am going today

I hear the voice of the girl who is wearing me

I see two worlds: darkness within and the beauty of my homeland outside of me

I want to be noticed and admired

I am a colorful and exquisitely beautiful robe

I pretend to be a lifeless object

I feel my fabric shifting as my wearer bows to greet an elder

I gently brush against sliding paper walls in a traditional home in the rural countryside

I worry when I experience a close encounter with a stain producing object

I will cry if I look at my reflection and notice a blemish on my fabric

I am a colorful and exquisitely beautiful robe

I understand I am a garment designed to serve my wearer

I say it is better to give than to receive

I dream of representing my wearer in a way that is honorable and respectable

I try to enhance her beauty when she wears me to festivals and other special occasions

I hope that kimonos will always remain an important part of Japanese tradition

I am a colorful and exquisitely beautiful robe