Private Dining

Random memories through my child's eyes

My grandmother 

had a cake tin

it held an assortment of buttons

my little eyes

saw not the tin

but a precious hoard of treasure

each button was

examined

with delight and admiration

shapes and sizes

wood and plastic

rummaged by tiny fingers

 

In music class

sat on the floor

with legs crossed on wood parquet

I happened on

a tiny cube

and jammed it up my nostril

perhaps it was

my childish way

of forging a rebellion

for cymbols not

given to bang and

crash nor drums to beat upon

 

At age of 3

with a sore throat

my father made honey tea

I took a gulp

and spat it out

he lashed out smacking my legs

I didn’t mean

to anger him

I simply abhorred the taste

he didn’t mean

to make me cry

it was never mentioned again

 

My mothers drawers

an endless source

of revered fascination

cornucopia

utopia

of women’s most cherished things

clip on earrings

well used lipsticks

in pink and orange and red

false eyelashes

nail varnishes

and stick on diamante

 

Multi-coloured

nylon headscarfs

I knotted around my waist

fashioned a skirt

of fine chiffon

and a yashmak for my face

fancied myself

a belly dancer

shimmying round the bedroom

finished the look

with feet swimming

and clip clopping in mother’s high heels

 

Kitchen cupboards

worth a forage

for cake sprinkles and silver

iced balls

chocolate drops and

rice paper sheets

delicously

scrummy and yum

tastier for their discovery

all very nice

to eat

a nose and a scoff

in the afternoon

private dining is hard to beat

Reviews

[Jibey]

A lovely collection of memories, each lovingly created and with lots of visual detail to make each live - and full of the wonder of a child

[Angel's Lady]

This is so delightful, April! Truly wonderful memories.

fancied myself
a belly dancer
shimmying round the bedroom

I only have one question -- Can you hide a red hanky?

[Antonio Valentino]

Well I never went through my mother's drawers,
but yes, how curious we were, and fascinated by all things simple,
and wondrous.
Thank you April for letting us peek into a snippet of
your childhood.
It sounds like you had a wonderful one.

Antonio

[Flow]

I felt like I was sitting on the floor listening to you talk about private dinning. I enjoyed that little trip down memory lane. I think this one is excellent well done. :)

[R J Askew]

I love this one as it has a brilliant free feel about it. We should all have memories such as the ones you conjour up here. And I think the poem will be one of those trigger poems for many who read it, evoking their own, hopefully happy, recollections. It is also sustained and very well executed, no words wasted, spangly of content, and it skips along like a playful kitten. Great job.

[Forest Green]

Seems like a treasure trove of memories...don't let them slip away. And what better way to prevent that then doing what you have lovlingly done.

The button tins...I remember them, all sorts of them, but right now I can't remember what we did with them...? I remember buttons so tiny I wondered how they even functioned...! ;)

Nice, very, very nice.

Daniel

[__Flaw__]

Remembering the old days are we :))) Yeah yeah, i know, we used to do everything with a touch of amusement and vigor when we were at that stage...Hell, now it's just living, no surprises, no sneaking into drawers, and no zest at all. Your poem reminded me of those mischievous efforts, and fascinations, and then of course, some strange outcomes :)))

Sigh... :(((

[Bubo]

Fascinating to see through your words and how as a child you viewed your world,the wonder, pain of being smacked, and the beautiful descriptions of important people in your life..........
I can't say I relate to alot of it,as my childhood was very different but I loved the little things that seemed to make so many wonderful memories.

My mothers drawers

an endless source

of revered fascination

cornucopia

utopia

of women's most cherished things

clip on earrings

well used lipsticks

in pink and orange and red

false eyelashes

nail varnishes

and stick on diamante

[Phil Sanders]

Wonderful .. I love your style and the beautiful flow to the writing ...

[SweetPeachesAlways]

I remember button jars! They were indeed an awesome sight! Imagining what piece of clothing such exotic treasures might adorn!

What a wondrous piece of memory yarn you have woven here! Wow! Truly beautiful!