Op shop poetry

My grandmother forwarded me this poem which she found in the Autumn 2010 Otago Poems in the Waiting Room (see info the original UK initiative here):

Op-Shop Fever

I must go down to the stores again
on the back streets of our town,
I’ve thrown my wardrobe in the bin,
I must have some hand-me-down.
And all I ask is a welcome smile
from the ladies at the tables –
They know my taste for silk or lace
and all the better labels.

I must go down to the stores again
to rummage through the racks,
Oh I can’t wait to clinch a deal
and snavel designer slacks.
And all I ask is to frisk the bins
and smell the ancient scent,
To finger satin lingerie,
to click the hangers bent.

I must go down to the stores again,
it’s a thing that I enjoy …
To act like a vagrant Gypsy type
and mix with the hoi polloi.
And all I ask is to trudge away
with the haul to my trusty Rover,
And a quiet stare in a looking glass
and some cash left over.

Barbara Strang

When contacted for permission to reprint the poem here, Barbara replied:

"I am the author of "Op-Shop Fever", which is as you probably realise is a parody of "Sea Fever" by John Masefield. It's fine if you use it on your website. Also is you wouldn't mind mentioning that it was first published in book form in "The Unbelievable Lightness of Eggs" (incidentally the title of another poem of mine in the book) published by Hallard Press.

Your blog looks great! I do op shopping myself, and one of my sisters does even more!

Cheers,
Barbara Strang"