Eve

I have dreamed of being naked
So often I cannot be sure
It has not happened and
Breaking out in a cold sweat
I check to see if I remembered
To dress before leaving the house.
Perhaps I stood at the telephone
Receiving such startling news
That the thought of clothes on
A body still dripping from the shower
Left me as one bereft, losing
All habits and reasonable behavior.

Those dreams I have of nakedness
Terrify and wake me up
To discover that I am
Totally covered with more than ample cloth.
Though these dreams often put me in public places
No one has ever called the police
Or offered to wrap my nakedness in a blanket.
Does some demon inside me want
To go undressed because I can't
Forget my mother saying
How ugly the human body is.
And yet I know she did not really believe such nonsense
For she clothed herself
In splendid materials and much jewelry
And her hats were covered with flowers.

[Undated poem by Virginia McKinnon Mann. Another handwritten first draft.]