The breasts of Hecuba,
When she did suckle Hector, look'd not lovelier
When she did suckle Hector, look'd not lovelier
My mother was an avid gardener.
But when cocktail hour arrived, delivering
the first of the four martinis she’d imbibe
before dinner, she didn’t sit
out in the sunset admiring her bleeding hearts,
her rhubarb, endive, asparagus, but reclined
on a shabby divan in the dim rec room
in the east end of the house.
But when cocktail hour arrived, delivering
the first of the four martinis she’d imbibe
before dinner, she didn’t sit
out in the sunset admiring her bleeding hearts,
her rhubarb, endive, asparagus, but reclined
on a shabby divan in the dim rec room
in the east end of the house.
After my father died, it often
happened
that dinnertime never came, and she would drink
til she couldn’t walk to the kitchen anymore. She once set fire
to the divan with a Lucky Strike. She never bothered
to replace the divan mattress but simply covered
the big burned spot with a raggy quilt she had.
that dinnertime never came, and she would drink
til she couldn’t walk to the kitchen anymore. She once set fire
to the divan with a Lucky Strike. She never bothered
to replace the divan mattress but simply covered
the big burned spot with a raggy quilt she had.
So it continued until cancer
stopped her. I came
to dispose of her affairs, to settle her in hospice
care, and to hear her final words to me:
You have never in your life
shown your dear mother any courtesy,
when she, poor hen, caring for you alone,
has clucked you to the wars and home again,
loaded with honor. Then she turned
her face to the wall.
June 2014
to dispose of her affairs, to settle her in hospice
care, and to hear her final words to me:
You have never in your life
shown your dear mother any courtesy,
when she, poor hen, caring for you alone,
has clucked you to the wars and home again,
loaded with honor. Then she turned
her face to the wall.
June 2014
