I’m an Old–Fashioned Girl

I’m an old–fashioned girl.
I like low houses with pock–marked walls
With yards full of junk
Instead of skyscrapers and apartment houses
Where I wake and sleep.
Geraniums on windowsills in polka dot cans,
I prefer to artificial flowers.
I’m an old–fashioned girl
That likes a scooter better than an automobile,
The rattle of a street car, the rumble of a steam locomotive
More than a whistle of a jet.
Footpaths instead of avenues and boulevards
Where my heels go clicking.
I’m an old–fashioned girl
That likes the smell of clean laundry
The wind brings to my face, over my nose,
Everything that recalls what used to be.
I’m an old–fashioned girl.
I still listen to long playing records and type on an Olivetti,
I say thank you, please excuse me.
I like when a gentlemen gives me light,
Opens the door for me, holds my coat, offers me a chair
And takes my clothes off garment by garment.
I*’m an old–fashioned girl
That likes kitsch landscapes with sunsets,
Fashion magazines and family albums.
Close dancing is the only kind I understand.
I watch the new movies in the old way
Sitting in the half–dark,
Practicing French–kissing in the last row.
I’m an old–fashioned girl
I don’t go buzzing around
I’m always to be found at home
Like clay pot drying in the draft
Of solitude and contentment,
Hangover from all the dreaming
I’m an old–fashioned girl
That’s cooking in her own casserole
Called I–want–I–don’t want.
I know little about love and passion,

A widow born with a maiden’s heart
Under whose feet life pours out
Like steam out of a manhole
Which I avoid with my quick steps.
I’m an old–fashioned girl.
I buy nothing at bargain rates,
Neither smiles nor rolls of silk.
I don’t wear mini skirts and low cut dresses
To make it easy for someone
Who wants to steal a kiss.
I’m an old–fashioned girl.
I don’t cuss, complain or rage.
You can spread me on your toast,
Although honey always comes with a bit of poison,
Love in fatal does.
I’m an old–fashioned girl,
The old bachelor pinches me like a new shoe
Which I need to take off, replace
With some as comfortable as a slipper,
Or broken in like my neighbor’s husband.
I’m an old–fashioned girl.
Nice to all the guys
Like to those who are afraid of the dark,
Afraid of elevators and crossing the streets where
    It’s not permitted.
I’m an old–fashioned girl.
As old as Carthage,
Minimally damaged by the tooth of time.
A museum piece that is not at the auction.
Touching is not permitted.
Take it or leave it.