Thanks for your replies!
This is what a friend has labeled my "femme" poem, but it's actually more about the God bits
Dress-up‘Mummy and Daddy went to say hi to God’,
Was how it was always explained.
Once a year, the mandatory church meeting,
Holier-than-thou and Sunday best for eight hours straight.
I loved it, because I could see my cousin.
She came to look after me every year.
We would play at dress-up and bubble baths.
I doubted their Lord would have approved.
First she would curl my hair and paint my nails,
Then cover my smooth little face in make-up
And put me in one of her party frocks.
Every moment I wasn’t in dungarees was precious.
We would laugh, and pretend I was a princess
Or a fairy, or a goddess, or a mermaid.
We would eat junk food and listen to Postman Pat;
Have crucial conversations over fruit juice.
Then they would come back every year
And say I looked a darling in my too-big dress,
Before changing me into shorts so I wouldn’t mess,
Cleaning off my make-up with stinging kiddie-soap.
And, of course, I grew too old too fast,
And learnt to like my practical, comfortable clothes,
And took care of myself while they went to pray,
And forsook my juice for coffee, just black.
Perhaps if I had been to those cold meetings
In that mouldy church, I’d see reason for belief,
But the alternative of junk food and laughter
Always seemed the better deal.
No matter how short life may seem, it's still the longest thing you'll ever do.