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Literature Text
I stare through dogwood blossoms
at the streetlight,
use a mayonnaise jar to pee
when I have to.
My father stops in,
says I can come down
for dinner. After the meal,
I bolt.
No bag, no belongings.
Hustle down the driveway,
hustle down the sidewalk,
hustle down the road.
Now and then, I check
behind me. I have done this
before, and always
they've come after me.
This time, I get
where I'm going.
I ring my best friend's doorbell.
She is going out
with the boyfriend I am in secret
love with, and she does not change
her plans. I sit in a taupe living
room with her dad and stepmom
eating second dinner, chicken and asparagus.
We watch a movie that scares me
a little. My friend never does
come home before my mother
knocks. My friend's dad just lets her
take me.
We ride home, through the same
streets I've been hurried over
since I was tiny. They seem to mock me
now, saying I will never get away
for good.
I follow my mother
through the garage, through the orange
kitchen, to my room without a door.
I sit on the windowsill, one leg
inside, one outside, and stare through
the dogwood tree at houses
where other things are happening.
at the streetlight,
use a mayonnaise jar to pee
when I have to.
My father stops in,
says I can come down
for dinner. After the meal,
I bolt.
No bag, no belongings.
Hustle down the driveway,
hustle down the sidewalk,
hustle down the road.
Now and then, I check
behind me. I have done this
before, and always
they've come after me.
This time, I get
where I'm going.
I ring my best friend's doorbell.
She is going out
with the boyfriend I am in secret
love with, and she does not change
her plans. I sit in a taupe living
room with her dad and stepmom
eating second dinner, chicken and asparagus.
We watch a movie that scares me
a little. My friend never does
come home before my mother
knocks. My friend's dad just lets her
take me.
We ride home, through the same
streets I've been hurried over
since I was tiny. They seem to mock me
now, saying I will never get away
for good.
I follow my mother
through the garage, through the orange
kitchen, to my room without a door.
I sit on the windowsill, one leg
inside, one outside, and stare through
the dogwood tree at houses
where other things are happening.
Literature
daughters
my 5 year old daughter only wants to run
through the park, loping beside our wolf-puppy,
both lean & fierce, joyful
as she tosses her hair back
& suddenly I see my body
in hers, tireless & certain,
despite my pounding heart
& damaged limbs, I run&run&
then she gives for a moment,
tumbled full-length in the grass,
feeding the puppy from her cupped hands,
& demanding, scratch my back too!
then down her sides & over the ripples
of her ribcage, her leaping heart
& tummy, still baby-soft,
until the shadows reach us & I
must give her back, inch by inch,
a long, twirling hug
my mother will echo with sad arms,
murmuring, you look really good,
Literature
My Mother's Horse
The night my mother died, the horse in the barn started singing.
Its neck bulged, veins sticking out like ropes around a hanged man's throat. The old blind eyes stared at nothing, dumbly terrified of the same.
"Shut up, you old dumb bitch," I snapped at it. It had been my mother's horse. Better than a lawnmower, cheaper than a car, she used to say. But for the last few years, it had been too sick to eat and too weak to ride or pull a cart. It just stood in its stall, swaying on its broomstick legs and heaving its eyelids up and down over its smoggy eyes. We'd been an odd trio—my mom, her horse, and me. She refused to kill it, and it h
Literature
Forgive This Grief (Miscarriage)
My arms are weighted with her space,
a heaviness that won't compare--
her toes, her smile, her tiny face,
and the imagined white-blonde hair;
forgive this mother's grief for stolen dreams
and let alone these tears that stream.
Forgive this mother's grief,
forgive this mother's grief,
remember things aren't always what they seem.
I know it's wrong to yearn for them,
but those moments when you despair
would give to me what was unsent--
a life of burdens I wish I could wear.
Forgive this jealous heart that wants to share
the grumpy shouts, the unmade beds you bear.
Forgive this jealous heart,
forgive this jealous heart,
remember it's 'bout her,
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Written for AllPoetryIsGolden 's 100 Themes Challenge. This one was easier to write than the last one -- I think the subject matter hit closer to home. It's a painful one, but remember that poetry and reality don't coincide 100%, and that I am much older than the speaker in this poem, and very far away from what actually happened. I'm curious what you think of the title -- does it make sense to you?
© 2014 - 2024 fernknits
Comments5
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I like this a lot. You've really simply and plainly portrayed the stagnant frustration of being an adolescent - you run away in a fit of rage and then it cools into bored depression and you get brought back home and you're exactly where you were. Really really well done.