Monday, April 25, 2016

Iva




Iva

I never knew Great Uncle.
When I turn twenty and can manage
the money he left for me

I will thank him for his hard work,
his thrift, and his service in far away Russia in the Great War.
Then I'll not hesitate to leave.

A life on the farm
was Mother's "terrible mistake."
It is my dream.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016


5 comments:

  1. Wow! This one is haunting. "Terrible mistake" hurts my heart. The poor mother.

    "Homesick"

    In late summer
    Mother and I
    ride the train East
    heat rises off the tracks
    making them dance and bend and blur
    And our coach car
    is stifling
    almost unbearable

    even so,
    when we get to the dorms
    Mother unpacks my trunk
    and makes me don
    my new winter coat
    with the high fleece collar
    along with the matching Cossack's hat
    and fur-lined gloves

    I tell her I look ridiculous
    point out the white flowers
    in the stone planter
    on the patio
    just behind me
    protest that I am suffocating

    but Mother insists on a picture
    I will not go home again
    until June
    and we both know
    we are in
    for a long
    cold
    winter

    (C) Carol Wilcox, 2016

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, those details you bring into this one. Just like a mother...so sad and so hard to say goodbye. Well caught. xx

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    2. What Amy said! WOW -- the details!!

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  2. Wow. I love this thinking back and thanking back.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. I remember that hat:
    the one you gave to me
    as a joke for my birthday
    and then watched with surprise
    as I tried it on, fit it perfect,
    and then wore it everyday
    as sort of clarion call
    to the world that I would never
    be tamed.

    Kevin

    ReplyDelete