The BlueIris Semi-Nightly Poetry Break, 8/5/09

[BlueIris]

"Mother and Child"

A child pedals down the street
in an orange plastic go-cart.
The wheels rattle on each crack.
Pieces of torn leaves
lie around me on the lawn.
Yesterday Mother shaped the chinese
privet bush into a perfect box.
Beside me, a line of black spears
points up to the sky.
I lean on the iron fence
and wait for her exit.
The schnauzer hangs from the leash
anchored in her right hand,
his front paws dancing
just above the ground.
"You're choking the dog," I say.
She loosens the rein
and in the silence the dog
lifts his leg on the hydrangea bush.
The wide, low branches lie
on the ground, swayed by the weight
of the white flowers. "Seen
this morning’s paper?" she finally asks,
"typist needed on the west side."
I light another cigarette and cross
my arms of the size-large
man's button down that covers
the child I've carried six months now.
"They let typists nurse
their babies on the job?" I ask.
She reels the leash in,
drags the dog toward her.
"The papers are signed. Don't
let that couple down."
The garage door opens,
the car backs out and she
backs out. "Take out
the garbage cans, okay?
I'll bake chicken tonight."
I watch her car shrink down the road,
sharp and flat as the last tin
target parading inside
a carnival shooting stall.

~Christianne Balk

[BlueIris]

1. On a purely selfish note, my slogan suggestion is a finalist in the August contest.

"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Resign Suddenly: Palin 2012."

Anyone who wants to vote for me should go here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6218900&mesg_id=6218900

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. Hey.

I voted for yours. There are some good ones this time. :donut: :hi:

[BlueIris]

3. Thanks, Tuesday. I knew I could count on you. nt

[BlueIris]

4. Kick.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. My dear BlueIris!

This is interesting...

A couple of sets of mothers and children?

Lives in transition...

Thanks!

:hi:

[BlueIris]

6. Yes, this poem is layered quite skillfully.

I just hope my "campaign" to win a free DU sloganed t-shirt didn't cause the piece to get lost in the shuffle.

[ThomCat]

7. What a really sad poem.

:cry:

A pregnant woman who doesn't want to be pregnant but wants to be a mother.

A woman who wants to be a mother but doesn't want to be a grandmother.

The mom wanting her daughter to quickly get over this and move on.

The daughter apparently sure that she won't.

The lingering hostility so calmly expressed.

This is very very beautifully presented, and so incredibly sad. :(

[BlueIris]

8. Glad someone picked up on the lingering hostility.

That was what made this poem jump out at me.