Totally agree with all you've said, Brian. What's a Mr Men book?
Judy
On 9 March 2010 15:44, Brian Hawkins <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I like that name, Miss Giddy, like from a Mr Men book.
>
> And I found the last stanza very moving, Max.
>
> Brian
>
> --- On Wed, 10/3/10, Max Richards <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> From: Max Richards <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: snap: bare floors
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Received: Wednesday, 10 March, 2010, 6:47 AM
>
> Bare Floors
> (2010, 1943)
>
> I’m pushing and dragging,
> the length of our passageway,
> a swivelling wide mop.
> Morning sun filters through
> the front door lead-lighting
>
> brightening yesterday’s detritus,
> mostly dust and dog hairs,
> with tints of stained glass.
> Whisk it all under the mop,
> pause at the back door bin.
>
> My job’s soon done –
> the long red-gum floorboards
> shine clear again.
> Today’s foot traffic
> may now begin.
>
> *
>
> They come back to mind,
> the floors my father used to tend –
> the things a Taranaki
> country teacher
> was left to do!
>
> He keeps the school bee-hives,
> runs the dairy-calf club,
> even in an emergency
> helps the village butcher,
> mastering all the cuts.
>
> It’s the break between terms.
> Large cans have been delivered.
> Opened – dark oil, its pong
> nose-wrinkling strong!
> I’m five, watching.
>
> He rolls up his sleeves,
> piles the desks and chairs away.
> Now he's spreading oil
> with a special mop
> all over the parched bare boards.
>
> Worn down all term, they were,
> and soiled by children's
> muddy boots and bare feet.
> (See how dry wood tends
> to splinter dangerously.)
>
> Glistening and reeking floorboards
> in three rooms and corridors
> are left a few days –
> the damp dark stain goes pale.
> Soon it’s next term,
>
> the freshness of the first week,
> the old routines resumed,
> the tramped-in dust and mud.
> The infant mistress,
> Miss Giddy, is kind to me.
>
> Dad’s wearing a tie again,
> pops outside for a smoke,
> fresh air and a quiet cough.
> Another de Reszke,
> and I can have the packet.
>
> Max Richards
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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>
>
>
>
>
--
Frisky Moll Press: http://judithprince.com/home.html
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/author/jprince/
"I would pay to see juggling added to Spelling Bees." ---Jeff Hecker,
Norfolk, VA
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