Saturday, April 26, 2008

Tension and Release

[Read Write Poem prompted us to write about contrasting things.]



Tension and Release


I flew out to be with Mom,

when Daddy was in the hospital.

There was not much I could do

except to be there,

keeping her company,

making sure she ate,

and offering to drive

when she was too tired.


Between trips to the hospital

I helped clean the house

and run errands.

We needed to fix

the large throw rug in the living room

since it would not stay put

on the wall-to-wall carpeting.


One evening found us

in our night clothes,

kneeling in the living room,

affixing a sticky pad

to the back of the rug.


That was the plan.

But our hands stuck to the sticky-pad

and our knees tangled in our nightgowns,

until we were like human flies

struggling in flypaper

or a giant spider web.


We started giggling,

and soon rolled on the floor

weak from laughing

because we couldn't stop,

and thinking it was a good thing

that the neighbors didn't hear us.





4 comments:

Anonymous said...

If Michele had not sent me here, I would have missed this poem. I loved it.

sister AE said...

Thanks, Gautami. It was late for the prompt. I'm glad you got a chance to read it.

Fireblossom said...

This made me laugh. I have a little apple-shaped rug just like that and it won't stay put on the carpet--it's a gypsy.

Anyway, the ending made me laugh. And isn't that just the way of it? One can't keep joy out, any more than sorrow.

xo

Blossom

sister AE said...

Thanks, Fireblossom.