by Danica Colic
I am not a shallow person, I am trying
to explain something—
there is nothing wrong with attending
to the neatness of things, with believing the nights
spent awake and worrying were not wasted, nor
the pains we took, scouring the aisles every weekend
for the things our homes needed and guarding against
what grows in liberal vents and the overlap of shingles.
There is nothing wrong with enacting gratitude;
we were trying to apply life some meaning,
a coat of paint, small loving additions and constant
repairs, the smell of new things, the plastic peeled
from new things was a way of loving life and
prayer for fair judgment, a mark of how much
we valued what was given us—breath, limbs
and shelter that we never took for granted.
And when we hauled our carts to the parking lots
we saw the edges no one had time to care for, the grass
allowed to grow waist-high in red coronas,
and we could love it, also, and know its beauty.
Once my young son went too many days without washing
and the yeasty scent of him stirred in me such a feeling
I could have carried him to bed in my jaws like a cat.
We sent our children to bathe and we cut the grass;
there is order and there is everything else against us
and order to defend; we cared deeply, and more than you.
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This poem was published in Fugue No. 37 (Summer-Fall 2009): http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/fugue/DanicaColic.html
Beautiful, finding and making beauty and magic in the tasks of each day.
This made the bottom drop out of my heart-
"Once my young son went too many days without washing
and the yeasty scent of him stirred in me such a feeling
I could have carried him to bed in my jaws like a cat."
Pleased Carol suggested I come to Fictionaut to read this. It was worth the trip. Lovely work.*
What a tender acceptance of how things are.
Yes as good as Carol said it would be. This is my favorite:
Once my young son went too many days without washing
and the yeasty scent of him stirred in me such a feeling
I could have carried him to bed in my jaws like a cat.
We sent our children to bathe and we cut the grass;
Thank you.
Splendid poem. I particularly liked "the plastic peeled
from new things was a way of loving life" *
Very enjoyable.
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Beautiful flow and lyricism in this. Love these lines:
And when we hauled our carts to the parking lots
we saw the edges no one had time to care for, the grass
allowed to grow waist-high in red coronas,
and we could love it, also, and know its beauty.
Excellent work. Thanks for posting. I especially enjoyed being in the mouth of that mother cat, something to carry me through the next few days at least. I'll fave this for sure so I can come back to it when I need another pick-me-up.