A new poem

A poem came to me this morning before I even turned on the computer. I grabbed a notebook and sat down in a chair in the living room and looked at the objects of my thoughts--the two pillows I bought at Garden Ridge yesterday when I was buying the artificial flowers mentioned in my previous post. I moved a few lines around because I like symmetry, but this is pretty close to what came out the end of my #2 pencil at 5:30 a.m.

Crocheted pillows, one dollar each
by Norma Bruce
April 12, 2008


Cheap and gaudy, yet a comfort to my eyes and body
You flood the room with memories
of projects I’ve left unfinished
and mother’s busy hands
working deftly beside me,
smooth and capable, red from years of hot dishwater and laundry.

In my mind I struggle to get that strand
from my little fingers onto the needle
and wish you were here talking
advising telling and remembering,
until drowsy from the rhythm of your voice,
I put down my irregular stitches and take a nap on your lap.

Last year when my husband was in Haiti I also wrote about buying the chartreuse pillows behind the crocheted pillows (you probably can't tell but chartreuse is one of the colors in the small pillows). It is based on the information on the tags which you're not supposed to remove until after purchase. So here it is again. April is National Poetry Month--sit down and write a poem.

>The Vows
by Norma Bruce
February 2007

Polyester pillow chartreuse chamois,
in accordance with the law
Federal RN# 57893
[or is it Reg. No UT 1417 (MO)],
I will not cut off your precious tag
until we are one,
or bleach you
or place you on the furniture
or on the floor
while you are wet.

And you in turn vow that you
are 100% polyester,
certified by your manufacturer,
that the materials of which you are made
are described in accordance with law,
exclusive of ornamentation,
and that you are 19-21284CSE,
Key 67, $9.99, bar code 0 86268 05831 1
and that you were made in China
and are bilingual in Spanish.

Snip. Snip. Snip.