the boneyard

 

 

 

I

was given the task

of explaining morning dew

to a child

 

But how does one explain condensed

moisture upon the surfaces of cool

bodies at night,

with a straight face?

 

Or the dextrorotatory rotation

of a plain of polarized light,

with Good and Plenty's left

in the box?

 

So instead I compared it to

the time her mother ran away

and didn't return, and how our

only solace was

 

a fatherly hug, a pink blanket

holding scents and a

Mountain Dew,

                             cold as last winter,

for our comfort.

Reviews

[Marie Anzalone]

Your command of language is so skilled- it is like you cut out the right words with surgical tools and set them on a microscope slide for examination. "condensed moisture on the surface of cold bodies" is as fine a line as I could hope for; then you hit me with dextrorotatory rotation and the angles and planes of complementary jujubes. All angles and contradictions, and when you peel back the layers to the heart of this, the focus becomes sharp and crystal clear and beautiful in its life. Fien, fine work my friend.. on all counts.

[SHEEMA HUQ]

began as so amusing and then the tide changed with the story of the child's mother leaving, not to return, quite moving, beautiful writing

[icelandicblue]

This is so beautifully sad. I love the ending as a father creates a safe haven for his child replete with the sweetness of Mountain Dew- that was skillful.

[therisa]

Reading your poem, Dana, brought warm memories of my dad, whom i miss dearly. Thank you, for placing me, in that moment of joy.

therisa

[Emily B]

oh, fresh and clean and clear and poetic as anything I ever saw . . . you've hit a new peak

[Horizon K.]

What a poetic way to explain the physics of life... morning dew, now looks like the stilled comforts that remain after a chilling experience...

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Dana,

you just Do It!

the last couple stanzas really bring this home...the dad explaining life to a child and all that is so hard to understand, even for the father trying to explain it.

[Steven]

That last stanza is so damn good.

It's hard to explain a several things to a child, and you just did it through your poem, with pre-wording, to us... or (I still wonder) if you told the child already, what you needed to tell... , but more important, you was there, as a father, (within your caracter), and gave an unbreakable embrace, of love a child needs, sometimes dana, silence says so much more than a thousand words, and to have a connection, of feelers, is a realm of beauty unspoken... enjoyed this immensely intense piece of your art. Always a pleasure to read you, this one was sad, but so well spelled... chapeau!

- Elisa

[Tree]

Beautiful sad. Kids have a way of connecting the dots that I admire. It is as if their innocent minds don't have to worry about trudging through the sh**t that we adults usually burden ourselves with. I could almost hear the little voice myself: " Oh, now I get it....."

Lovely piece, Dana