April 14th poems
Today’s prompt is actually inspired by a song I love by Feist. The song is called “How My Heart Behaves,” and the prompt for today is to write a poem with the title “How (fill in the blank) behaves”–with the poem inspired by whatever you put in that blank. For instance, you could have a poem titled “How Mr. T’s mohawk behaves” or “How the homeless man on 9th Street behaves.” Have fun with this one (I know you will).
How My Child Behaves
She sees me sewing.
I’m making her communion dress.
It’s not something she’s had
much interest in, till she notices
the tear in my barn coat.
“Mommy, can I fix that for you?”
she asks with no doubt she can do it.
Of course she can do it.
We agree on a price.
Inside, she sets up shop with a
temporary “closed” sign until she
finishes supper.
Then, I drop off the “job”
with her sewing service
after threading a needle
and putting in a knot.
It’s better than watching TV.
I read while she sews and soon
she says she needs more, but we
are out of the color that matches.
No matter. White will do.
“I might want to go back over it,”
she says.
“Okay.”
“Your sleeve might be a little shorter.”
“Better not be.”
“It won’t, not really. How do you like
it so far?”
She holds up the coat.
The fabric is bunched and criss-crossed
with hazardous stitches, glaring like
a never-healed wound.
“Beautiful,” I say.
She finishes that rip and goes on to another.
A barn coat is a panoply of opportunity.
I pay her, with a tip for excellent work.
She is proud and can’t wait to show her dad.
No longer filled with ambition to be an
architect-writer-veterinarian.
She is going to be a sewer, she tells him
at bed time.
And make lots of money.
–Candace
HOW MY BLADDER BEHAVES
Old man’s disease.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:58 pmCan’t go past a restroom.
Comfortable and warm
In the early morning hours,
I have to disrupt my sleep, my dreams,
To stagger to the bathroom.
The sound of running water is anathema.
Taking a shower is difficult.
So is brushing teeth.
The urge is insistent.
It screams for relief at the most awkward moments,
As in the middle of a formal dinner,
Or “Nessun Dorma.”
This is the reason that
Old men don’t visit Niagara Falls.