She wears red silk
while she gardens
soon it will be Monday
and she is preparing to
stave off murder
Between mathematics
and history
she knows
the boys in her class
go to stare at pictures
of a stolen aunt
pinned to the inside
of their cubicles
They hold their breath there
after school even
while she throws down seeds
onto her unready lawn
Lord. Claine. The stories you tell. Brilliant chapters of a life. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Rob. As you know I write at night after a full day and I am very tired when I do so. I am never very sure about the value of the work when I hit the publish button so thanks for the feedback xx
DeleteLove the Unready Lawns Claine :) Very vivid - the boys going to stare at the pictures of the stolen Aunt pin-up. Great stuff - as usual!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Kristen x
DeleteI teach indigenous students Kristen so there is a reference in the poem to the stolen generation. I hope the reference is not too obscure .
DeleteFabulous poem - image after image after image in my head when I read it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Stuart x
DeleteYes! fab Claine and what springs from that unready to the cubicle, just great image leaps all round, and after another hard day!
ReplyDelete