polka dot curtains in the form of dotted swiss
light and airy, fuzzy and bumpy, minute and white
polka dotted pillows in reds, blues and oranges
unusual in grandma’s house; everything here usually has a dog on it
She has a dog-print couch, dog-paw-print carpeting,
dog apron, dog dishtowel, dog toilet paper holder.
Maybe this is her idea of branching out?
Where are the cat prints? I ask grandma.
This annoys her.
She despises cats.
One bit her in 1943.
Categories:
dishtowel, cat, dog,
Form: Free verse
Oh, yes! I recall them well,
those pretty prints as flour sacks.
They only needed hemming
added to Mom's dishtowel stacks.
I don't remember dresses
made from them for Sis or me.
Sewed together for table cloths,
they were pretty as could be.
They brightened the old kitchen
when hung as window curtain.
My dear mother wasted none
of that I can be certain.
They are making them no more,
I suppose to save some cash.
All flour comes in paper bags
which is fit only for trash.
11/13/2013
Categories:
dishtowel, memory, mother,
Form: Rhyme
From the wrought iron gables
the oblong hummingbird feeder dangles
shiny plastic, strawberry lip-gloss red.
It sways above my grandmother’s head
as she watches their vibrating wings.
She rests at the kitchen sink,
puts down her dishtowel, and smiles.
I want to ask if she is tired of housewifely trials,
but the cat leaps to the window, hissing,
waking my grandmother from her reminiscing.
She goes back to the dirty dishes, alone;
silence is the new partner in her half-empty home.
Categories:
dishtowel, death, family, lossgrandmother,
Form: Rhyme
work quickly to stop the blood
his little head seems to empty
and its just a little play-gym cut
but he wacked it hard.
I press the dirty dishtowel down and
dial 911
with the other hand
keeping the 3 year old close by
careful not to move the injured boy
police arrive
and then I go green
he says
look at your stove and count to ten
that's all the time you have to freak out
we need you here.
unreal
ambulance ride
and hours in those hospital lights
so glad to be home
both babies in my lap in the dark
not even a concussion but 12 stitches later
wondering
how many times
we'll do this again.
Categories:
dishtowel, family
Form: I do not know?
Wearing a dishtowel around his shoulders as a cape
This gleeful child claiming to be Batman
Jumping off the footstool,
Leaping around the room,
Determined to save the world
Now grown, a world of worries of his own,
The enemy is a mighty foe
A furrow in the brow of youth
A childhood world he must let go
When the world contrives to knock you down,
who will rescue you?
Categories:
dishtowel, angst, childhood, introspection,
Form: Free verse
We had started preparing dinner,
but when I told her they were grazing out back,
she wanted to go see them for herself. I folded the dishtowel
and put dinner on hold.
I suggested we take scraps
Lettuce leaves, carrot tops, apple cores, …scraps from the counter
The three horses were clustered under the trees,
munching tall grass, not far from the house
Only barbwire, the swing set, and their indifference between us
We tossed pieces of lettuce over the fence, and called out their names
At first they pretended not to notice us,
but finally one pony swished his tail, and slowly, sidled closer
My grandchild held out the apple, with a hesitant hand
At first she was afraid, of losing a finger perhaps,
or her quivering thumb
But, I told her to flatten her palm, hold the apple like a gift
The pony devoured the apple, and continued to nuzzle her hand
Barbwire is no restraint…. And love has no constraints
Sometimes amounting to nothing more than
an open heart, and open hand and an apple core
Categories:
dishtowel, life,
Form: Free verse
Wearing a dishtowel around his shoulders as a cape
This gleeful child claiming to be Batman
Jumping off the footstool,
Leaping around the room,
Determined to save the world
Had to grow up
A world of worries of his own,
The enemy is a mighty foe
There's always a furrow in the brow of youth
A childhood world he must let go
When the world contrives to knock you down,
who will come to rescue you?
__________________________
Categories:
dishtowel, adventure, childhood, fantasy, life,
Form: Free verse