the living room door
in my aunt Margaret’s house
had the face of Jesus in the grain
when I would fall asleep
with its eyes watching me
I thought I would wake up healed
Salvation on the other side
of sugarwood
when I was three, I remember
my mother carrying me
because our street had flooded and I said
I thought you told me
God would never flood the earth again?
Turns out, my town wasn’t the whole world,
but I took up my grievance
with the door
With my little hands, I unscrewed
the hinges and offered
it to Noah for an arc
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🥳🥳🥳 I am so disappointed in my work this time but I’m excited to read other people’s work when I wake up later! That will make up for my own negative feelings!
“I took up my grievance / with the door” — I love this surprising turn and how it’s worded 🙂
Don’t be disappointed with this, it is superb! It hit home for me as I too have an Aunt Margaret. “With my little hands, I unscrewed the hinges and offered
it to Noah for an arc” A perfect and really clever play on words! Love this poem!
Why on earth are you disappointed? This is so clever.
Turns out the town wasn’t the world, so nice!
OMG Angel…this is fabulous! I love the innocence of the child and her concern about the flood. And that last line, ‘With my little hands, I unscrewed
the hinges and offered
it to Noah for an arc’
is just so perfect!
What a lovely cadence. Why are you disappointed?
I so agree aboiut the great cadence and the lovely music throughout the poem. Salvation on the other side of sugarwood. That is a great line. Thank you Angel. Tough isn’t it to see our own poems and think they are not enough. If poetry is saying the unsayable we will never get it right but the winning is in the trying. I really found this a impactful poem. And it was # 24! I only did the half-marathon and my writers brain was friend at # 12! Thank you Angel.
love this poem, so many images that make sense and are clever. I liked the spunky forthrightness of the child and how she empowered her self to action. It is a great tale.
Your mother carrying you through the flood, you complaining about God’s promise not to flood. The image of Christ on the door. All such clear images. Enjoying your poetry.
Oh man, this is clearly a popular poem but I want to add my love to it as well. It’s so illustrative! The themes of religion and childhood innocence/understanding are very moving and remind me of my own childhood. Well done.