Dear Mère, Mère, Mother, Me ●

Why Bother to Give Civilized Respect? Mother, Mère, Dear Mère, Me, can you hear? Pontius Pilate's wife unnamed, The only person of record who appealed Pilate's decision to "Wash his Hands"

Speak when spoken too.
Stand when a Lady enters the room.
Say yes Sir, No Sir, yes Ma'am, no Ma'am. Say them 'til it is natural.
Smile when they or you walk into a room.
Open a door for him or her to walk through.
Hands, get them out of your pockets.
Do not touch."ne touche pas"
Do not start to eat, until the head of the table does.
Do not sit down, until the head of the table does.
Take less than you need, as the food is passed.
Cut one piece of meat at a time.
Use a napkin, after you drink.
Throw a little arch in your lower back, sit up straight.
A Spoon is not a shovel.
A bite is a bite, not the whole plate.
A finger is not a backstop, not a bulldozer, that's what a fork and knife are for.
Listen, and watch, there is a lot more to conversation than noise.
A body, a brow, a focus on a thing that is, or is not.
Speak of experience, an article in Time magazine, a book, a poem.
Clean the table to the kitchen when all is done.
Ask to be excused.
A poem my ears pricked, The rest had been hammered into me day in day out.
A poem this was new! So I Dared I asked a Poem? Not too long ago I sent her a poem.

"One has to be alone to read a poem too -- to attune one's mind to what the poet
is saying -- (I cherish "alone" as very different from "lonely") Do you keep your poems in
a little book? you should -- although I have others, they may get lost.
I get frustrated that time speeds on so fast that I have none left to do
the things that I want to do. Put some of your time aside -- to be alone --
to read -- or just to think about nothing and every thing and write
another poem."

Bells in my head, A compliment, yes this was new, felt like a hug,
Warm strong, long, when you let go, you look away, did they feel the tear?
The moist eyes in you?

Author's Note

Old enough to know when snakes lay in the shade or sun. About when we turned away the over crowded boats in Vietnam and children learned the sound of a Kalashnikov in Africa, Me and twenty adults bound together in a bus, My grandmother had arranged to have me peeled away for a meal with the Ambassador to Australia from Laos, Solo alone, what she had taught me had sunk in. I did well, little did I know at the time, I was her Ambassador too, He had children too. Later I learned he returned to Laos, not to be heard of again. Killed in a "cleansing of thought". Some time after 1973.

Reviews

[Shelley Holt-Lowrey]

Beautiful testamony to the "she" who helped craft you into the man who stands today. Hats off to her (if I wore one anyway).

All things which make interactions between humans so ...'human', but more the things which tell others "you matter enough" for me to be this. The world matters enough for me to be this.

Made me cry. (I used to get smacked on the elbow with the handle of a knife for resting my elbows on the table. One night... dad started with me. I knocked my sis, who knocked the other sis, who got my mom. A riot and a great family memory. Yep! Made me cry sir.

[lee von cleef]

Thank you again ,Added to header and note.

[emmajoy]

Rules and regulations, restrictions and rejections.. tis an extraordinary way to rear a being with feelings and nerves and eyes and ears .. is as if the wee creature is a puppet being taught to move only when .. And apart from extraordinary good manners and social awareness, how did the emotions grow? Is the dear man you are the child of that upbringing or what life has wrapped around you or a combination of the two - or more?

Your words made me sit up straight .. made me wonder at how things were for me, for us (siblings and me) .. and that we survived example. My hands are actually trembling, read this three times, wondering if ;ambassadorial' duties are the best or the most considered of all professions and if so, what happens behind firmly locked doors when the job's done .. or was?

Permitted solitude to create .. oh my. The moist eyes are a reward for services rendered, gold stars and certificates on the wall .. and a son to be proud of.

[lee von cleef]

Emotion,both sides of the family,gave it yes to reward,and both sides knew some magyk way to tuck expectations inside me ,without me throwing up a wall.I can not say that my way has worked as well.

[emmajoy]

Don't doubt it has.

[Tate Morgan]

I sure can relate to this My mother was this way as well adding pass to the right forks in ascending order on the left.Knives on the right turned toward the plate inside the spoon.Mine even went so far as to post on a chalk board the topic for conversation that evening.And like you it was an event that you didnt get excused from and asked to be allowed to finish.We set at the table till all; were fairly done and picked up the remnants of the meal for her. You are right to say you were her ambassador. We all had assigned seats and silver napkin rings with our names on them. This brings back memories for me for sure . I rather tried to speak when spoken to as i didnt like rebukes.But as you say when presented with my first work a book She was actually forced to approve and compliment me

[lee von cleef]

I had thought to go back would make writing easier,that the emotion would let go but,I still live" unsatisfied" and that would make my grandmother smile...

[Tate Morgan]

LOL that is so true. i told my mother i had been mugged the other day she said. well thats all well and good but my dog has been missing all night and we have to get him a GPS unit right away.that started the big search that ended in his being found a few blocks away and a new gps unit and by the way nice to see i was alright lol

[Ken Simm.]

Nah not first draft. Complete into and of itself. Layered, nay plural to the nth degree. Quirky at times, difficult, at more times laugh out loud humour. Witness to a lot of thought but with glorious craftmanship showing.

[lee von cleef]

Thank you just added to the note,and header, to give more weight to context.

[Ken Simm.]

And that it certainly does. Less difficult, less light but certainly more weight.

[lee von cleef]

I argue with myself about fog,

[Emily B]

it reads more like a finished poem to me

[lee von cleef]

Thank you,some time I wounder about depth and Light how to make the two dance, forwards, or backwards in heels, I don't think today's men can do it.But I Will try.

[Emily B]

i don't believe poets can be made, we are created with the spark, the time and meter, we started out on our journey with clear eyes and found ourselves in the light of this world as something more than the commonplace human, poets are not made, we just are, and you definitely are a poet

[Muse]

For a first draft..this has so much potential. I say keep elaborating on this. And for God's sake would you stop talking with food in your mouth. lol Nice work.

Muse

[lee von cleef]

Not much change yet,just header and note.