24 June 2020

It Can’t Matter to You

A new poem by Isobel Dixon.

February 1936: A woman walks down a covered archway at Shell Mex House, London. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

It can’t matter to you.
You’re just a light bulb in a glass of milk.
A teacup tossed and shattering.
Blank canvas. Melon stabbed.
A matte, a set, a miniature.
Wear the damned clothes.
Be still, demure.
Let your face be drained
of all expression, sir. Sit.
Look up. Look down.
Do nothing.
Let him paint his world
and its desires on you.
Whatever you do, don’t act.
It can’t matter to you.

This poem was written for the “Vertiginous” project premiered at the BFI for the 60th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”. Isobel Dixon’s collections include “Bearings” (Nine Arches Press).