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Mama's Diary, Part Ii

Disappointed that most of the things
she kept contained
on a daily basis
were far too banal to entertain
memories of sad things
over the years
ho-hum anxieties, insipid fears
rather mundane
and not even interesting
unlikely worries
like being kidnapped by pirates
or eaten by a polar bear-
but worries like her favorite dress
being ruined by the cleaners
and not having anything decent to wear
or getting a bad permanent in her hair

Disgusted by the
blandness
of my Mama's secret life
I flipped and skipped ahead
to after she and Papa wed
but it was no better
just drab descriptions
of her experience as a housewife
and lists of petty irritations
things he did that annoyed her
but she hollered those out
in screams and shouts
so even those were no great surprise
'cause it didn't take much
to 'get a rise' out of my Mama...

Eventually I learned
that people will answer
those questions every day
in the way they live their life
in the things they say
for there's a pattern to everything
and ultimately we each reveal
all we try to conceal
whether in our work or in our play
...and my Mama spoke volumes
in her diary
in all the things she
didn't say

Copyright © | Year Posted 2018




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Date: 11/5/2018 10:22:00 AM
So sagely done, my friend. "and ultimately we each reveal all we try to conceal" - this is why we become poets, Rhona, as we are forced to by muses who cannot be contained. Beautiful!
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Mcferran Avatar
Rhona Mcferran
Date: 11/5/2018 12:46:00 PM
Thank you, again!! "...This is why we become poets"... Yes, very true! ;)

Book: Reflection on the Important Things