Shame

Poppies kneel, flaccid as fish

Rays of light gripping their skinny necks

A corona’s bright song pressing down like choirs

 

Girls no bigger than mother’s smooth thigh

Pull little skirts over tight knees

Boys peaking over cookie jars to see what they’re hiding

 

Mother finds time to make lists of forbidden foods

Creamed sugar encased in glass and pantyhose

Daddy only satisfied licking dripping fat from meaty bones

 

Beady eyes search the ground for

Naked stones peaking under spikey weeds

Pinching fingers in the dirt to save them in their pockets

 

Eyes roll silent in the dark, seeking rest

Clasping tiny hungry hands before the family god

Reviews

[Creepy Swine Guy]

I'm churning this over in my mind since I read it. The title is "Shame", but in the images of the little boy seems to be the oppositte. But the little girl pulls her skirt over her knees like a proper little lady. Maybe this is about how we learn shame?

GOD! Sometime I am so dense.

Anyway, I give you 95 for your skillfull painting of the word picture, as you always do. Feel free to educate me about what i am not seeing here. The one smart thing about me is KNOWING that I'm not smart.

[Kristina Moulaison]

Yes, you're right, it's about how we learn shame. How we use it to teach our children how to live. I was contemplating it as a religion, how we elevate what we should avoid as if that is the virtue. This is how we domesticate our children and how we continue to domesticate ourselves long after we have grown up.

[Dr. Wood ?]

So much information in this maze of literature. I cannot believe there are now only TWO reviews...Maybe I'll review it again...

[Kristina Moulaison]

Ha ha! Thanks so much for reading!