Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Triumph


MAGPIE TALES

THE TRIUMPH
(An Imagination!)

Ah, but he was a hard man, my father!
When he drank,
Which was often,
We all cowered,
Waiting for his turning of the key.
The candles would gutter
As he threw open the door
And confronted us.
In slurred speech he would berate us,
Mock us,
Belittle us,
Threatening us with worse to come.
But it was my mother who suffered most.
Many times
I saw her beaten,
Heard her cry out,
Saw her sobbing in the aftermath.
I was the eldest boy.
I should have protected her,
Championed her,
Looked my father in the eye
And dared him to continue.
But, no!
I snivelled,
I hid in corners,
Covered my eyes.......
Eyes.
One of his was false,
But it could intimidate,
Wither
And quell
As well as any human eye.
When he died, in a drunken brawl,
He left us penniless,
And on the street.
I asked for his glass eye.
People wondered why I wanted it.
I used it as paper-weight
When I was studying.
Even now that I am a successful man,
It looks at me.
*
But I can look right back
*
--------------------------------------------------------

WINTER WARMERS

Completed without a single hitch!
It's hooray for garter stitch!
Brilliant colours! Smiling faces!
Blankets destined for far-off places.
Coloured squares, joined up together
To warm someone in the winter weather.
Nimble fingers creating magic.
Winter often can be tragic
For folk who have to go without!
A stirling effort, without a doubt!
Keep knitting, Ladies, and smiling too.
Just look what generous hearts can do.
*

10 comments:

jabblog said...

A glass eye as a paperweight is really novel but perfectly understandable. What a chilling tale.

I like the kangaroos knitted into the squares:-)

Lyn said...

I too used my"eye" as a paperweight.. love the resolution to your poem...

Helen said...

The Triumph is a poetic triumph.

Kathe W. said...

The first was quite sad, but the second was so happy- kudos to all those afgan creators!!

Margaret said...

Powerful Magpie! Wow.

Sioux Roslawski said...

I'm hoping your "eye" piece was pure fiction. I would hate for that to be anyone's true story.

The end was sheer perfection!

The Brave said...

The ending was fabulous. brings real satisfaction to the reader.

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Both poems are fine works of art and I would agree that 'The Triumph' is a triumph.

Anna :o]

Tess Kincaid said...

Your poignant piece reminded me a lot of Angela's Ashes. Well done.

Anonymous said...

The second poem is so positive and uplifting. The first is beautiful and heart-breaking I can relate to the drunken abusive father.