The English language is a joy
if you have a truly twisted
sense of normalcy, and the word
fashion can easily be its role model.
As verb you fashion something,
make, construct with an implication
of personal physical activity,
an active verb after all.
As a noun it is all a quite
different world, a world of clothing,
of style and, properly, the prevailing
style of the moment unless…
You could show high fashion, though
it was never clear who might be
in charge of fashion’s elevation.
You could be fashionable –
arguably everyone could be
since it only meant you were
capable of fashion not showing it.
Or you could be the dreaded
old fashioned, passe, spent,
of little worth or use until
you crossed that unseen line
and became antique, where time
magically acts to gift a person
with sudden added value,
but he wasn’t there yet,
nor was he new fashioned
so he’d just have to settle
for being a fashion watcher.