These shoes and this handbag

Unworn and unwanted, yet issued

Somehow didn’t fit in with the rest of the kit

Hardly the stuff of hardy seafarers, naval engineers.

These shoes and this handbag,

Unchanged but unused, yet issued

A bygone relic

Of wartime telephonists, radio operators.

These shoes and this handbag,

Unexpected and unchallenged, yet issued

Amusingly compensating for skirts with no pockets

Yet reminding us of our place, don’t forget.

These shoes and this handbag,

Of limited combat utility, were issued

I find out when the men got their weapons

To the women before us who couldn’t bear arms.