Julie is hosting the Round-Up this final Friday in May at The Drift Record. Thanks, Julie! I hope everyone has a safe and good holiday in remembrance.
I've been quite challenged this month with Michelle and Laura's persona challenge this month at Today's Little Ditty, have tried numerous people, animals, etc., and was not very excited about any of them. This month’s Ditty challenge on Michelle’s blog, Today’s Little Ditty, asks for a persona poem, connecting and celebrating Laura's new verse novel, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary which is filled with persona poems telling the story. A persona poem makes the poet (then the reader) see the world through the eyes of another person.
Finally, I have one to share, inspired by a picture of my husband's grandmother at sixteen. I loved being with his grandmother, a sweet woman who was a farmer's wife, raised a family and did well what her life seemed to hold for her, traditional women's work. She was raised in a time when that was expected, and when I looked at the picture, it made me wonder if there were other dreams in that young girl's early life that went unfulfilled.
Daughter To Mother
You agree, don’t you
that I’m young and demanding?
My eyes stare:
taunting,
then chastened.
I cringe in the mirror,
stick out my tongue
(when no one can see.)
I am a firefly making a lazy
journey,
because I know
I will turn in the evening
to who and what you are.
Linda Baie © All Rights
Reserved
32 comments:
A lovely, bittersweet poem. I immediately wanted to know what the mother was thinking, too, and suspect she might be quietly agreeing with her daughter.
I wonder when I look at old pictures too...(or drive by an empty house)...
Wonderful poem...loved the look inside...(like the sticking out of the tongue when no one could see)...
Linda, the young woman is so beautiful and pensive with a slight smile. What was she thinking? You captured an introspective look into the past. The reference to a firefly was well-intentioned on your part.
My goodness, Linda, I'm oohing and ahhing all over this poem! The daughter's voice and personality, the bond with her mother, that lazy firefly, and of course the photographic inspiration, too. Sigh. (I've added the poem to the wrap-up with a link to your post to view the photo.)
Oh, you're right, a group of women in silence asking "what if?". Thank you.
Thanks, Loralee. I found the picture long after she was gone, would have been nice to have talked to her about her girlhood.
Thanks, Carol, yes, it is deliberate.
Thanks, Michelle, as you read, this was a tough one to find inspiration, and then I did. It's another great challenge thanks to you and Laura.
She looks like the kind of woman who would have had a glass-door friend as Anne of Green Gables did. An active imagination and a capacity for joy. Your words are very moving, and they hug that tension that mothers and daughters have, they hold it close.
Thanks Brenda, & for that reminder from Anne of Green Gables, too.
Wow, Linda - if you weren't pleased with your initial persona poem efforts, you must feel satisfied with this one. Such an evocative photograph, and your words bring possibilities to life. Killer last lines. Well done, & thanks for sharing.
Extraordinary photo, Linda. She looks almost defiant. I like how your poem gives her a chance to speak honestly, adding to the intrigue of what her girlhood was really like.
Thank you, Robyn. Always amazing to me when something comes out right.
Thanks, Jama. I rather think she looks defiant too. There is something there!
Very moving, Linda - both the photo and poem make the viewer/reader ponder her dreams and future.
Very nice, Linda. Your lovely language captured the thoughts you shared about your husband's grandmother.
It looks as if there are many of us who feel the same way when we look at photos of young people from long ago. Your poem captures that feeling very well, and I think you should try a companion poem from the mother's pov. "I am a firefly making a lazy journey" Excellent.
Thanks, Matt. It's nice to see this young woman of so long ago and remember, I agree.
Thanks, Penny.
Several have mentioned that they'd like to hear from the mother. Will try it, see if I can imagine what she would think. Thanks, Jane.
You and Catherine have captured that trapped feeling of many young women of ages before. We should stop and reflect on how far we have come. Maybe a female president is in our future?
Always good to reflect, but there is still far to go, too. What a strange election year happening! Thanks, Margaret.
Fabulous poem, Linda! And the photo is a treasure. I'm especially fond of the upside down bouquet pinned to her dress! I wonder if the flowers had meaning to her?
Thank you. Isn't she pretty? I wondered about the flowers too because it's such a formal portrait. It appears to be a 'picked' corsage. There's no one to ask, at least in the family!
"I will turn in the evening to who and what your are." So glad that we and our daughters had more choices. I do like the resolute set of her jaw and that faraway look in her eyes . . . lovely imaginings and beautiful poem. Happy Memorial day weekend.
Yes, Linda! So many unfulfilled dreams! I love that you've give a voice to your husband's grandmother and that she can be "a firefly making a lazy journey" before beginning the hard work of a farm wife.
Thanks, Ramona. Hope your weekend is terrific. That baby is coming soon!
Thanks, Catherine.
Oooh, Linda, you've captured so much from the picture! I love that you knew her later in her life and could capture some of what she possibly longed for. Lovely. =)
Thank you, Bridget. It was kind of a revelation to really look at this picture of someone I only knew as an older woman. And fun to imagine what might have been.
Love the sassy attitude, and then turning of thought that builds in your persona poem. The photo is wonderful too!
Thanks, Michelle, so glad you enjoyed them both.
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