THE SHADOW DOLL (This was sent to the bride-to-be in Victorian times, by her dressmaker. It consisted of a porcelain doll, under a dome of glass, modeling the proposed wedding dress.) They stitched blooms from ivory tulle to hem the oyster gleam of the veil. They made hoops for the crinoline. Now, in summary and neatly sewn -- a porcelain bride in an airless glamour -- the shadow doll survives its occasion. Under glass, under wraps, it stays even now, after all, discreet about visits, fevers, quickenings and lusts and just how, when she looked at the shell-tone spray of seed pearls, the bisque features, she could see herself inside it all, holding less than real stephanotis, rose petals, never feeling satin rise and fall with the vows I kept repeating on the night before -- astray among the cards and wedding gifts -- the coffee pots and the clocks and the battered tan case full of cotton lace and tissue paper, pressing down, then pressing down again. And then, locks. -- Ms. Eavan BOLAND, born Dublin, has lived in England and the USA.