New Hat

Wearing many different hats,

a winter one--
trimmed with faux fur--
accompanied me
to the store last night
where,
at a balmy 54 degrees
I looked like something
among the jacketless
tee-shirt wearing crowd
I like to think:
my something was
prepared, exotic, original.

Never liked a baseball cap
but you can hand me a Stetson
or a beret; they leave my hair
just so.
I'll take a helmet
or maybe one of those
Tallulah Bankhead jobs

from the '30s.

Maybe I'll look cool and detached
like I'm

from the '30s.

I suppose the most important hats
I wear
would be the ones you don't see:
mother, wife, friend, writer, teacher

Can you define yourself
with a hat?
What would it look like?
Would I have
one hat
for everything that is part of me
or would I have a coat stand full
and pick the right one
for the occasion?

Today, my hat does not fit my outfit,

I really think that's too much to ask.

But maybe, tomorrow,
I will put together
that sexy, articulate, mysterious look--
a covert operative from Russia--
matching boots and coat and scarf;
frosty eye shadow slashed across sleepy eyes.

Which hat
do you
think
I should wear?