“Read them fairy tales.” Albert Einstein
How could we forget that
toddlers squeal the anthem of the moon:
a song muses covet? Did we also forget
which child purpled the night and placed
gold coins in true baskets like aging gypsies
to make a home for a lost cherubim? The infants
who sleep behind the gate of the vegetable garden,
near the garden hose sleep with downy-soft kittens.
They breathe rose petals and coo at the cow, yes—
just as houses may return to hold the women in.
There’s no Peter Rabbit to slide a fence over.
No mother-made jacket to leave behind, snagged.
No chocolate bunnies. Not even a sugar-candy egg.
The toys. The toys. O, rue the day we threw out
the toys. The wobbling Weebles that have fallen
down into yellow Tonka trucks have gone to
a cardboard church where GI Joe is a witness as
Barbie marries Ken. The toys. The toys.
Now only in dreams, where we cannot escape
the storybook wisdom in a bowl of captured light.
Written in response to a post by The Third Eve
10 comments
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July 22, 2008 at 2:58 am
Jana Allard
If all else fails, you can fall into the world of Dr. Suess. 🙂
July 22, 2008 at 9:55 am
jessiecarty
I love how you piled together all the different toys. It has a building effect towards and urgency. INtriguing! (and you mentioned weebles so that has to be worth a lot! I loved Weebles 🙂
July 22, 2008 at 10:21 am
helenl
Hi Jana, Did you read the post by The Third Eve? This is a response to it. She talks about the collective unconscious and the meaning of dreams.
Hi Jessie, Thank you.
July 22, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Shirley
Love this poem.
July 22, 2008 at 2:20 pm
helenl
Thank you, Shirley.
July 22, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Karen Hopper
Most interesting as well as revealing poem. We need to take heed.
July 22, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Eve
Helen, this is wonderful. It fills me with longing and sadness. This line, “No mother-made jacket to leave behind, snagged,” it’s so beautiful. Just, beautiful. Wow.
No mother-made jacket to leave behind, snagged.
Look how much is in those eight words. Amazing.
July 22, 2008 at 4:41 pm
helenl
Thank you, Karen.
Thanks, Eve. Perhaps we’re all orphans in dream-world. Just a thought. I’m not sure I believe that.
July 22, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Jana Allard
Yes, Helen, I did read it, but my comment was tongue-in-cheek. Seriously speaking, the line Eve noted grabbed me, too.
July 22, 2008 at 6:36 pm
helenl
Sorry, Jana. And thanks.