When I was six,
I loved to twirl my wash cloth,
make it slow-dance
across deep, soapy water, content in
the claw-footed tub, my mother singing.
Life was simple, before definition.
first published in Mastodon Dentist
where I'm a Rank Stranger
June 24, 2008 in Paper Snowflakes, Poetry, Would I Lie?
When I was six,
I loved to twirl my wash cloth,
make it slow-dance
across deep, soapy water, content in
the claw-footed tub, my mother singing.
Life was simple, before definition.
first published in Mastodon Dentist
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9 comments
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June 24, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Jay Burns
Brings me back to my carefree childhood. I can picture doing dishes with my brothers. We would always argue over who would wash and who would dry. I suppose that’s the arguemtent all siblings have over the dish washing duties.
June 24, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Meander
beautiful imagery….can we recapture those moments now?
June 24, 2008 at 3:07 pm
helenl
Jay,
we had assigned roles: I was dishwasher, Pam the dryer, Michael took out the trash. But as the oldest and as dsih washer, I decided which day we cleaned the stove. Boy, di that generate some heat!
Pun intended.
Thank you, Meander.
June 25, 2008 at 2:06 am
writeathome
Helen, I’d have to say that this is my favorite poem. I love the simplicity of it, and it is a prime example of how less is more. Claw footed bathtubs are cool too.
June 25, 2008 at 9:23 am
helenl
Thanks, Carol. My parents took out the claw footed tub and had it sitting in the back yard, when someone came along and asked fro it. They gave it to him, thinking, just an old tub. Of course, later they wished they had kept it, but it was too late.
I saw one that looked just like “ours” in Atlanta in Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home. I bet it’s worth a bundle.
June 25, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Karen Hopper
Helen, the innocence of simplicity was done so well in just a few lines. And I love how the mood was changed when “definition” made its appearance.
June 25, 2008 at 10:50 pm
helenl
Hi Karen, Thank you.
June 26, 2008 at 10:08 am
Mike Lovell
I remember being entertained by such simplicity as a washcloth across the water….then I asked to do dishes. It didn’t take long after that to start asking about not doing dishes. I much preferred playing with the washcloth.
June 26, 2008 at 10:43 am
helenl
Hi Mike, I like that, “entertained by simplicity.” Lie was simple.