Grandmas + Snapshot
by David Ackley
are necessary, but easy to overlook.
Faulkner said
a great work of art was worth
any number of grandmothers,
begging severely the question
of where he would be,
lacking one of his.
Snapshot
In the photo,
How old, how old
the face chiseled deep
and sagged
no surprise they grew old young,
to these women in their faded print dresses and
laced black shoes trained
by work and wear.
...bearing:
wearying, that
(sons sent to war, not always returned to sender)
the making and baking
the thick stockings and heavy shoes
and at the end of day
rubbing sore feet
for a little relief
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Author's Note
re "Grandmas";This line of Faulkner's always sort of pissed me off.
The second piece, "Snapshot", born out of the first....
Other stories by David Ackley
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Good old Faulkner!
Lovely to read, even if I don't really agree.
Thanks, Erika, for the read and comment.
Makes me think of Flannery's she'd have been a good woman if she'd had somebody there to shoot her every day of her life.
She would have been a good woman,” The Misfit said, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”
My grandmothers are gone, but I know from whence I came.*
Thanks Dianne and Tim. ( I like that Flannery Story, too.)
Lines, spacings, what you say, all good.
Thanks, Mate.
This is very fine. You don't argue with Faulkner, you just do the arithmetic on him — where would he be, lacking one of his — and that lands harder than indignation would.
And that parenthesis about sons sent to war: putting it in the language of parcels, and then in brackets, so it's almost muttered. That's the line I'll be carrying around. Beautiful, both of them.
Thanks Javed, I really appreciate the close attention and grasp of the intended ironies.
David: is this the memorable exchange you allude to in your first piece? (See the sixth question posed by the interviewer.)
https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4954/the-art-of-fiction-no-12-william-faulkner
If so, your paraphrase conflating "mother" with Faulkner's "old ladies" succeeds in obscuring his response (to the query specifically posed, concerning "artistic ruthlessness"), while risking the tender sentimentalism that “grandmas” and "grandmothers" invite. ("Old lady" as synonym for "mother" works as a jocular if not endearing term without being terribly or necessarily pejorative.)
Granted: "poetic license", et cetera et cetera et cetera--but you might want to consider whether your regard for Faulkner's usage warrants even one generous spray of urine.
"Snapshot" features the fine line "no surprise they grew old young".