Wash hangs crooked on the line.
Peaches rot beneath the tree.
It's been a week since I could lift a finger,
a week since you put your hands on me.
Gal from church says men get to drinkin,
and you ain't to blame for what you done.
She promised that she'd pray for me
and told me to think about my son.
I do.
I had your baby in my belly
the day that I became your wife.
We didn't take no wedding pictures
cause the night before you'd blacked my eye.
The members of the congregation
filled the pews to watch us wed,
and none objected as my busted lips
struggled through my vows and said
I do.
Late that fall I had the baby,
and my boy, well, he wasn't right.
Doc says it must run in my family,
but I know it's cause you kicked me in my side.
When he was two years old I tried to run.
You caught us out in east Monroe.
That's the night you broke my arm and said,
"You know I'll never let you go."
I do.
Sheets are missing from the line.
There's fresh dirt beneath the old peach tree.
My back aches so I can barely moved,
but you ain't put your hands on me.
Gal from church says men take off.
Sometimes they just up and run.
A woman has to do whatever needs doing.
A woman has to take care of her son.
I do.
Monday, July 25, 2011
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About Me
- Maude Lynn
- Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days. ---Flannery O'Connor
16 comments:
You have such a knack for telling a story in a poem. This is stunning. The repeated "I do" changes meaning each time and takes us through a painful journey, with no tangible help from the church ladies. Really good stuff, MZ.
hey soul sister. i'm glad to see you put those sheets and that dirt to good use. down to the first baptist they learnt me that wastin stuff is a sin. you'd be their darlin i think, bein so resourceful. ;-)
i'm leavin these here white lilies by your back door. they're good for beginnings or endings. so says margie at the june bloom boutique.
What comes around goes around.
Strong stuff, MZ!
Unfortunately, there are all too many real situations like yours here in the poem! And you do have a talent for telling a story -- good situation or bad! Hope your week is off to a good start!
Sylvia
Chilling, and another look at how your characters are never destroyed by the hard knocks they take, just knock back even harder. I think you see into a part of the human spirit that we don't access enough, and paint its power in your work. Well done.
Great stuff,MZ!
Great telling of a shitty situation !
Like it.
I do.
Wow... Filled with pictures of busted lips and brusies ...
I'm glad she stayed strong and sorted it out for her and her son.!
I do, love the telling of the tragic and complex. Yes I do.
sad and poignant ~
seeing another side of you...grittier and sharper... i like it~
Love this, perfect work with it able use of refrain and progression.
exceptional fucking poem.
fucking amazing.
WOW.
Yeah I was hoping he was going to disappear. Great wording. B
Goose bumps good!
powerful! and i agree... fucking amazing! you are a POET among poets!
"She promised that she'd pray for me
and told me to think about my son." ... Ouch. Such a great help.
"That's the night you broke my arm and said,
'You know I'll never let you go.'" ... [sigh]
You know, I read this differently. I thought he had killed your son and taken off. I thought "doing what has to be done" meant that you had to bury your son. But then I read coal's comment and realized what I had missed.
You are so talented.
~Shawna
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