Showing posts with label Over-the-Rhine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Over-the-Rhine. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

A Farewell and an Explanation


Does that sound ominous enough? Sheesh! Once again I find myself writing a post after 100 days of poetry. Oh I exaggerate. Just a bit. But does the poem that wasn't part of a meme count? I guess it does - sorry!

Well, you'll be safe from poetry & other assorted memes for a few days at least - Dr. M & I are headed to NC on Friday to visit the family (it's his parents' wedding anniversary). We're coming back next Tuesday. I may or may not post while we're gone - depends on how rude I think I can get away with being. Heh. Ooh – maybe I'll get Daddy to write the Wordzzle!


Senior Picture

I wanted to talk a little bit about the poem from yesterday. When I was a senior in college I took a January mini course which involved a trip to the Over-the-Rhine area of Cincinnati (little did I know then that I would be working in Cincinnati 11 years later). We were visiting the "inner city" and helping with various projects - cleaning out apartments, working in soup kitchens, and helping with the Free Store Food Bank. I kept a journal as part of the class & mostly wrote poems. Yesterday's poem was about my experience of working intake at the Free Store. One of the workers was telling a mother to make her baby shut up. My 21 year old idealistic self was aghast.

So I just wrote what I was feeling.

Some of the other poems from that journal may show up elsewhere on the interwebs in the next few days. I'll definitely point you in the right direction if they do. I think that personally I'm done with them for now. I ache for that girl's naïve belief that she could fix the world & that the world wanted to be fixed. I didn't really turn into a real bleeding heart liberal until much later. But in January, in Over-the-Rhine, the seed was planted.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

One Shot Wednesday – Thursday at the Free Store


Thursday at the Free Store
Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati

"Shut that baby up!"
And the child cries on.
Mary Justevich sings
her raucous song of life
& the child cries.
"The next time you come,
you leave that baby at home."
And in the wounded eyes
of the mother, I see
her cry:

     There's no one there
                 no one there
                         no one.


January 9, 1986


This poem is part of One Stop Poetry's One Shot Wednesday poetry gathering, where all poets are welcome to share. Make the rounds – it will no doubt be fascinating!

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