{"id":136621,"date":"2023-09-02T21:22:44","date_gmt":"2023-09-03T01:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/?p=136621"},"modified":"2023-09-03T11:29:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-03T15:29:24","slug":"hour-11-dying-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/hour-11-dying-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Hour 11: Dying Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dying Dreams after Tomorrow\u2019s Born Today by Gerry E. Heber<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A decade and a half ago<\/p>\n

Young me turned sweet 16<\/p>\n

To celebrate this joyous time<\/p>\n

My mom bought me a ring<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was hideous and gaudy<\/p>\n

Covered side to side in stone<\/p>\n

For inspiration, when she chose the thing<\/p>\n

She must have used her heart and soul<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Months passed and yet it gathered dust<\/p>\n

Inside a drawer inside a closet<\/p>\n

She asked me why I never wore it<\/p>\n

I told her that had many causes<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I told her I was saving it<\/p>\n

For something far more special<\/p>\n

That I didn\u2019t want to lose<\/p>\n

A thing so sentimental<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She said she didn\u2019t buy it<\/p>\n

To collect dead skin and dirt<\/p>\n

By seeing my hand bare each day<\/p>\n

She was insanely hurt<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So I told her that I hated it<\/p>\n

I told her it was ugly<\/p>\n

And I told her she could wear it<\/p>\n

If she thought it was so lovely<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She said she traded her engagement ring<\/p>\n

To get me something proper<\/p>\n

I said, \u201cThe ring you hated<\/p>\n

From the man you hated more: my father.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So she took me to the jewelry store<\/p>\n

So I could make a trade<\/p>\n

Get a ring that I would wear<\/p>\n

A simple stone. \u00a0A simple shade.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I told her that I really<\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t want a ring at all<\/p>\n

A ring upon my finger<\/p>\n

Made my skin begin to crawl<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It mattered not to her, though<\/p>\n

I should show appreciation<\/p>\n

I needed something proper<\/p>\n

Sweet 16 was an occasion<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And, in a nutshell, \u2018twas my life<\/p>\n

It may not sound like torture<\/p>\n

Forced to wear the finer things<\/p>\n

Oh, the shock and horror<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But that is not the point<\/p>\n

Of me telling you this story<\/p>\n

The point is she did what she wanted<\/p>\n

Every day, for her, not me<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I mustn\u2019t wear the clothes I like<\/p>\n

I mustn\u2019t wear my hair up<\/p>\n

I must learn all the trends and styles<\/p>\n

Learn to do my makeup<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I can\u2019t have a guitar<\/p>\n

For she will not support a pipe dream<\/p>\n

I mustn\u2019t be so fat<\/p>\n

Lose my weight and self esteem<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I shouldn\u2019t date the boys I like<\/p>\n

They were black, or short, or ugly<\/p>\n

Shame on me for caring more<\/p>\n

About if they would love me<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I must live my life her way<\/p>\n

Regardless how I suffer<\/p>\n

The last thing she will be is<\/p>\n

The bullied child\u2019s mother<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My dreams for me meant nothing<\/p>\n

Her dreams for me supreme<\/p>\n

And so I wore the finer things<\/p>\n

And let my insides scream<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not 16 anymore<\/p>\n

And I have stopped complying<\/p>\n

And in the pawn shop \u2018cross the town<\/p>\n

Her dreams for me are dying<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dying Dreams after Tomorrow\u2019s Born Today by Gerry E. Heber   A decade and a half ago Young me turned sweet 16 To celebrate this joyous time My mom bought me a ring   It was hideous and gaudy Covered side to side in stone…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4616,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marathon-poem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4616"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136621"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137514,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136621\/revisions\/137514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}