Ryfkah I like a lot of this but I wonder if stanza 2 should have some
african violets in it? (it might mean making it into two stanzas of course)
or can you make a stronger connection between african violets and cowboys?
SallyE
on 27/7/02 4:42 pm, Ryfkah * at [log in to unmask] wrote:
> African Violets
>
> Their mother reared African Violets
> orchid pink and near indigo
> She pinched deadheads
> and ocher leaves fed them
> special food by eye dropper
>
> His red hat strung below chin
> he played cowboy by riding
> the end of the worn couch
> roping his little sister until
> she yelled Mommy
>
> The African Violets jungled
> the back room like a rainforest
> Their leaves grew strong
> The sun angled just right
> even in the late afternoon
>
> As teenagers they watched
> American Bandstand
> dreamt of being on television
> Mom fixed hot meals
> on rusting TV trays
>
> The African Violets wept their leaves
> A few blooms surfaced
> Soil like a dry riverbed
> embraced their struggle
> Some pots held barren stubs
>
> Their mother died last week
> at eighty-seven
> Her slight body at rest
> The pain of old age vanished
> On her grave African Violets
>
> Ryfkah 7/27/02
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