Sunday, February 19, 2012

Nostalgia for Sale

               Photographer: Mary Ann Potter




You gave me that look, rolled your eyes…chuckling
Your connection to my heart severed wholly with a rusty hatchet
I wanted to buy that house, my house and mend it neat
The one where a young girls dreams warped and waned by day

Nostalgia for sale……ragdoll memories
 “Run to the market punkin’ and get me a beer”
Cigarette perilously close to my hair
“Your mom’s after me to paint the house”
One apple, two apples, three apples, four….


That top step was perfect for dolls, a book, a kiss, a cry
Daddy’s front stoop wisdom, forming misconceptions, but endearing nonetheless
Rodney hiding under that porch when company came…hoping for skirts
Missionaries chased down the block, caught only in the dog’s dreams

Nostalgia for sale……fading memories
“Run to Green’s for me sweetheart, I need some smokes”
Whiskey breath perilously close to my nose
“Your mom’s after me to fix the fence”
Five apples, six apples, seven apples, more….

Locks on teenagers doors kept Uncle Jacob at bay, drunken covert fumbling
Mom seemed to turn the other cheek til’ midnight knife to balls….reformed, Hallelujah
Carport posts destroyed by driving lessons and dad’s not so subtle teachers hand
Tree house porn scattered by the wind, glossy thighs on mom’s windshield, beatings

Nostalgia for sale….so sweet memories
“Run to Grant’s Teddy bear, my oxygen is out”
My first love perilously close to death
“Your mom is after me stay on the couch”
Don’t be in a rush to get out that door……

13 comments:

  1. WOW! This poem is so rich with the past - a past I can definitely relate to. Nostalgia, memories, and the looking back of a survivor. I was right there with you.

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  2. I love the third stanza, and your recurring theme of undone chores. Like Sherry, I can definitely relate.

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  3. From the beginning of their lives to the end...this is a beautiful story of a family who's home was filled!! Loved it!!

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  4. As always, you combine the good, the bad and the ugly in a most compelling way, and your signature chorus stanzas, create a sense of indelible nostalgia. I love where the image took you.

    (PS. I don't know if it's just me but the photo is not visible..just it's jpg title.)

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  5. A blues song just waiting for the notes! These are the kind of thoughts I often have when I see these sadly abandoned places, and you have expressed them far better than I could! Beautifully written! I'm so honored by this response to my photo. (By the way, I can't see the photo, either. Some kind of download challenge, perhaps...)

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  6. I adore the past....as well as this work.
    Very nicely wrought.

    ~Mimi

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  7. I agree, this is the good, the bad, and the ugly, all rolled into one piece of amazing nostalgia.
    Fabulous piece of writing.

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  8. Nostalgia for sale...so much in this house. I wonder if it would sell if the memories were known...I agree it is a blues song.

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  9. Yes you nailed reality, Nostalgia is not all romance. It is good, bad and ugly..Loved the 'chorus' because it could easily be a blues song:)

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  10. Oh I am rollin at the "missionaries caught only in the dog's dreams"! Hey! You dropped your tracts! Aintcha gonna come back for...hey....guess snot.

    *grin*

    Thank your for your kind comments at my place.

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  11. Whoa with the memories....nostalgia for sale....comes part and parcel with the house

    like all the gritty details ~

    great to see you sharing at RT ~

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  12. love it, i'm all intrigued. keep 'em coming.
    (hey as an aside? i think you should take down the adult content warning.
    it's silly. everyone's an adult here.)

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  13. Well, the title is amazing and yes, I can see this as a bluesy song.

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