On Gender
Does the moon envysun’s glorified reign –(gender inferred) Sons were sunin my family,we women lunar Father straddledthe two – a secretwe fought to suppress Fluidity of pronounsnon-existantin formative years. (Image my own)
Read MoreCategory: childhood
Batter Up
Intensity grips the bat-grit interwoven with anxiety Nothing less than a home runwins approval in this boy’s game The lone girl, I am aflamewith rage of inequality (Took a coveted bat and tight fist to get me here) Dig my feet in and stare downthe pitcher, ready to ignite the field. (Image my own)
Read MoreSunday supper table (sestina)
Two at the ends, two at the backone for the cook, one for the helpthis was the way of Sunday’s table:hungry tums anxiously waiting,family dog glued to the floorlest any scrap should need saving. Father would pray for all our saving;serve himself before handing back,while Mother paced the dining floorever offering us kids some helptill […]
Read MoreSurvival of the Wittiest
Father demanded first slice of pie doled out with high brow perfectionanything less unacceptable Crumbly bits unleashed a tiradethe shame of incompetencecrushing the reluctant server Oppressed as we werewe children plotted,sought a suitable revenge He got his just dessertcherry with a subtle trace –scent of satisfaction. (Note: no parents were killed in the writing of […]
Read MoreWhere Ignorance Leads
Quest for independence born of familial dysfunction led me down a path of dissent Compromise, I believedwas toxic, swore againstthe brutality of submission Need no one,depend on no onehave nothing to lose Overlooked the joyof interdependence –an alien concept Chose a lonely path, a straggler destinednever to belong… (Image my own)
Read MoreFanciful
Petals:I’ve counted thempressed thempreserved them Dropsof sentimentprescientpretenders Trivialpursuits of passiongaming for lovechildish ploys Petalsfickle as the seasonselusive as joytoo soon expended. (For Eugi’s Weekly Prompt: petals. Image my own.)
Read MoreSisterly Love
It’s just a moth, I offeredthat blue moon nightrattling windowschafing nerves We’d chosen exile –sister and I – refuge from family demons, not ours to claim Innocence borrowsresponsibility – I boreit like a badge;she shattered Could not discriminatedarkness from her owninner light – soughtto end the fury I’ll carry us both,I murmured, too youngto recognize […]
Read MoreTired of Same Old Endings
Tired of same old endingsin which hopes are slaughteredand tragedy and insanity win. Raised by the bottle, learnedto set standards low –still afraid of heights –have fallen as the groundbeneath my aspirations crumbled –a certainly under alcohol’s rule. Tired of same old endingsin which self is battered by indifferenceand ego loses the battle for control. […]
Read MoreFetch
Father taught us to fetch –What else are children for? I did not like his demeaning sneernor the way he lorded control Mother learned to ask how highwhen he snapped: “Jump!” I vowed to be differentto never let him break me But his arms were strongerand my fear real, and so From my father, I’ve […]
Read MoreDig
Some memoriestoo darklie buriedbeneath this hide Secreted to forgotten chambersI obsess over ideologiescrave peace Only an archeological digcan set that dream in motion. (Tuesdays I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own.)
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