no TV, no central air or heat,
Piano in corner of big kitchen gets
family voices passing familiar tunes
back and forth, accompanied by
red bird in giant pecan out window.
Home has killer domino game going
on screened in back porch. Glass bottles
of Dr. Pepper chill in shoulder high fridge
Clothesline flaps neat rows of faded towels,
embroidered pillow case samplers, record
of sewing kill. passed down generations.
Home smells of hot beef stew with bay leaf,
cinnamon sugar buchta, peaches off the tree.
Black rotary phone hangs above hall table,
rings maybe once a day. Books in three languages
layer tables, shelves. Typewriter clicks out letters.
I have WiFI now, AC, TV, hybrid car, drier,
but I still conjugate "home" in past tense.
There is no 'home' like the home of one's childhood, I don't think. Hopefully my children felt that same way...and my grandchildren will also have warm memories of MY home.
ReplyDeleteReally good job of involving the readers senses and evoking wonderful memories.
ReplyDeletehttp://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/big-tent-poetry-timekeepers/
This is a terrific piece - it feels just right!
ReplyDeleteAcutually when I was trying to do the drawing, thoughts of other homes kept getting in my way, all the way back to very early childhood. And I thought about writing of one of them, but then slept on it and had a dream that told a completely different story. Thanks for this one, it brought those memories to new and brighter freshness,
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Very enjoyable - slightly reminiscent of the earlier prompt with the picture of just such a home as you describe so well. Please, what is " buchta"?
ReplyDeleteYour details paint a vivid panorama in my mind.
ReplyDeleteEspecially love the piano, old-fashioned phone and red bird in pecan tree.
Your home sounds like a delightful one, except I cannot imagine no a/c in Texas! The food sounds so yummy,too!
ReplyDeletehome is the sweetest place to be,
ReplyDeletecheers,
enjoyed this.
Loved all the clear details that covered all aspects of this home's life. Put me smack dab in the middle of it!
ReplyDeleteLovely piece of verse. Brings back lovely memories of home...
ReplyDeleteI love this poem because it takes me back to my childhood - to my grandma's home, where all of these things were present (other than the piano!) Lovely and nostalgic.
ReplyDeletePoetry that moves me shows me something about myself. This one does that -- I recognize this home and the importance of the past tense. Very nice!
ReplyDelete