and now, at twelve, you have to choose:
your first real boyfriend and his mother
want to take you
for a masque in Santa Fe, stay
the night. But
Isis, Azellea, Ashley
and you have conspired
for weeks to be death-fairies, picking
out your matching black and glitter
to trick-or-treat together; next year
may be too late. You reach
for me, so rare these days.
I could rise up, motherly
wrap easy words around
you like a woven shawl.
But that's where your
wings will go.
She's 18 now.
What a sweet pic of you guys! Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteShe's a lucky girl to have a mother like you.
"wrap easy words around
you like a woven shawl."
Lovely...
Do you keep your poems in a journal?
this poem is so tender...so much being said...at least for me...what you WANT to do, but what you know you HAVE to do...it has brought emotion for me, i have read it now many times.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much to learn in all of your writing, the content is FULL of new things to learn and consider. Your children, your students are very fortunate.
I love the picture!
ReplyDeleteDisclaimer: We have DEFINITELY had our rough spots, and I've made LOTS of mistakes. She was the first, so the "guinea pig," unfortunately. But one thing I realized early on is that honesty and humility go a long way toward healing.
ReplyDeleteEC - Thank you! Because I've been writing poetry since second grade and have done a graduate degree in creative writing, my poems are kept in a VERY large folder in my file cabinet. The largeness is partly because I can't bring myself to throw away any of my drafts. I do often write poems in a journal first, though.
Jennifer - I'm glad you're enjoying it. Thank you. That poem definitely describes a sort of rite of passage that was for both her and me.
Ah ha! I knew there was more to the story!
ReplyDelete"...done a graduate degree in creative writing..."
This 'splains some things, Lucy. No wonder why I've always noticed how well you write.
this is the perfect halloween poem.
ReplyDeletei still feel like this poem in particular is one of your best.
EC - Doing a creative writing degree actually turned me off to writing for quite a while after graduation. All that pressure to publish. And while I enjoy writing poetry, and reading it at poetry readings, I have very little desire to seek publication. I'd much rather be blogging!
ReplyDeleteEmmuh - Thank you. For Easter, I'll post the one I wrote about you.