by Bobbi Lurie
Ma warned me about women. Ma could be disarming and disturbing but she believed in spoiling me and my sister because she was Cuban and Cubans believe you need to spoil children to give them happy memories to fall back on when life turns into LIFE, the way my mother saw it: through cancer, mental breakdown, institutionalization. I did visit her there but my sister didn't. My sister had moved to Cuba with one of our cousins by then. The restless spirit of an older sister can be a confusing distraction for someone as attached to family as I am. “Your sister is a slut,” said Ma to me over supper. I think that may be a reason why I tried to hide my interest in women from Ma. “They'll always disappoint you,” she said. “All my women friends stopped calling after I got sick.” She never got over this. Dad tried to call her friends back to her but Ma broke down before anything could be done. Sarah, my sister, was already long gone. “Me duele el corazon pensando en ella,” mother used Spanish, the language of compassion, for all emotional statements.
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203 words
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Published in Dogzplot
http://dogzplot.blogspot.com/2011/10/soliloquy-on-ma-bobbie-lurie.html
(some changes since publication)
Love the voice that comes through in this. *
Epic story, economically crafted, layered with meaning.
" . . . happy memories to fall back on when life turns into LIFE . . . "
Great piece, great venue. Good writing, Bobbi: "The restless spirit of an older sister can be a confusing distraction for someone as attached to family as I am." *
Brutally unsentimental. YES! *
Wow Bobbi, that moment at the end is so true and so familiar to me from my own life.
"mother used Spanish, the language of compassion, for all emotional statements."
Wonderful story.
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Stunning piece, Bobbi. * (PS: My much loved mother gave me similar warnings against other women. So I decided to reshape the world a tiny bit in her honor. I see you are doing that too.)
Amazing piece just loaded with sad and miserable truths.
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Thunderously powerful. *
Nice piece, Bobbi, each sentence moves into the next element of the story, advancing it and letting it cohere. Clarity. *
Ache and trouble brewing throughout, the pared down tone and "straight" forward prose are in contrast to the simmering brilliance of the subject matter, given the culture, and your strength in complex, tight prose shines through.
Fave.
you don't have to speak spanish to get to the heart of this family.
love this story
...when life turns into LIFE. Love that bit.
Strong writing, Bobbi - such depth. *
wonderful story Bobbi, rare and sterling.
Very nice, moving. Reminds me a bit of my favorite Jamaica Kincaid story, “Girl.”
I knew I was gonna like it from the title!!! And I agree with Ed Higgins about it reminding him of "Girl" By Jamaica Kincaid. I love this! Got my writing bug back! Thanks!
Bravo!
excellent!
Really like this, Bobbi. *
found this at dogzplot today (!) and loved it there. it's a wonderful, deeply existential flash just the way i like them. *
Both instances of dialogue floored me in this. The first was jarring and the second was poetic and a perfect conclusion. Wonderful.
Excellent piece, Bobbi.
This is a mercurial little piece. The Spanish comes from a deep heart space. Gonna revisit this one a few times. Fav.
So much emotion and an entire family history packed into so few words. This is very beautiful. A fave*.
I recognise these women. I both know them and feel like I'm meeting them for the first time.