from Barbara Smith "I gave you all this line: 'I got down on my knees and smelled the brand new linoleum,' from a story by Edna O'Brien (another class act) in her short story collection The Pagan Place
from: http://intendednot2b.blogspot.com/2010/05/drivin-in-straight-line.html
Linoleum's Fresh Dreams
red nails dug deep
into the clutch handbag
her pillbox hat askew
a stark silhouette
the only reminder
she drew the crowds
her stilettos dug deeper
as she kept putting on weight
from the groceries
from the babies
from her incessant need of candy
into the light of day
a bit of gray linoleum
new foundations laid
made me weep
it's time for a change
cigarette butts n' scrambled eggs
uncouth yet deeply meaningful
a chain-smoking Marilyn M. said
all her dear children dead
sat silent, ate as slow
choking on the bitters
and said no regrets
not far from nowhere
smell of acrid-acetonality
"don't give me no lip"
factories churning
out the dailies
showering down
upon their sweet heads
propaganda poetry
rousting them out
calling them down
"Better living
through chemistry!"
instore today!
'Install a
new linoleum floor
today!'
hear as a news flash
over and over
24 hour the
grill's greasy radio
Immediately I fell
prostrate and pious
upon the round ground
I got down on my knees and
smelled the brand new linoleum,
prayed for the first time
as uptight as my upswept hairdo
wiped out by memory banks
drifting ashore
weekend warrior
swiftly I downed the rum
took the pills
and went straight to bed
jj
peace at last after dramas,
ReplyDeletebeautiful poem!
Wow, Jane, this one's a keeper!!
ReplyDelete"...stilettos dug deeper as she kept putting on weight from the groceries from the babies from her incessant need of candy"
(Sounds like me)
Willow: Oh joie de vivre; it's EVERYWOMAN! Name me a woman that never put on an once post partum and I'll eat those literary stilettos (only if they are chocolate!)
ReplyDeleteAn intimate portrait filled with vulnerability and hopes.
ReplyDeleteI like this. It has an offbeat appeal. Cigarette butts and scrambled eggs paint a pictureand I love this bit..
ReplyDelete'propaganda poetry
rousting them out
calling them down'
Rousting is a word to rip your tongue around.
Hey thank-you for your comments; get a feel of what people like and what they get into, in a way, a good way to figure out stuff and tone up or down! Wilow, Paul C. and Totalfeckineejit Thanks again most kindly!
ReplyDelete