A SUMMER AWAY
by Susan Susurra
Extra ranch hand?
Yes they said
So off I went, to Geyserville
One month streched to three
I guess I earned my keep.
Adopted as fifth sibling
They converted me
From Cowsills to Clapton
Taught me to fall off a horse
Got me drunk
Tossed me clean sheets
To hospital-corner guest's beds.
One evening
Oldest son finally broke
I alone witnessed the fight, flight
"Never coming back!"
Station wagon door slammed,
Tires pealing off down that narrow
Excuse for a dirt road.
Cried so hard in my room
The sobs carried down over
Dining hall, swimming pool
Until someone came to tell me
I was making a scene.
I was twelve, learning that
families shatter sometimes.
Some summers,
Some lessons, we never forget.
Larry didn't come back
And I flew home, cool whip tub
Of moist salamanders in my lap
My childhood's footprints
Left behind in the creekbed.
*
THE GALLERY
by Susan Susurra
She watches his face
While he admires the painting
Two lovers finally entwined
The scene a Rajput palace, a far off time
The story one of passion long denied by fate.
He points out the detail paid by the artist
To the dress, the expression on Radha's face
"See the jaguar in the background there?"
She seeming not to hear
Doesn't answer
Smells the perfumed incense burning
Feels the silver rings on ankles, fingers, toes freshly hennaed
Hears the sitar and tabla in the background
Tastes the heat of Krishna's body
Interlocked with hers
Paints him blue with the desire
Brushed clearly on her face.
Kiss her at this moment,
And all the barricades will melt away
Like ghee on a stack of steaming chapati.
Susan Sussura is a no-longer-unpublished poet who sees poetry as a means to explore that which lies under the surface - "the secrets we whisper in the cover of darkness, hoping to touch a deeper place in the listener, but ultimately revealing a different echo of our personal truths that sometimes surprises us as the author. So call it a personal exploration." She lives in Portland Oregon, "where the mist softens even the harshest of my experiences." She is the blog-tender at A line cast, a hope followed.
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A NOTE TO THE POETS OUT THERE
I'm interested in considering your "poems of place" for publication in The Middlewesterner's "Saturday's Poem" feature; send two or three of your best in the body of an e-mail addressed to [email protected] . Put "Saturday's Poem" in the subject line. Then be patient. I will get back to you about whether I'll use your work or not. Send along a short biographical note and information about where your books can be purchased and I'll include that when your poem runs. There's no payment involved for having your work appear in "Saturday's Poem," but the feature is seen by some few high class readers. Click here for complete index of and access to "Saturday's Poems" poems published prior to September 18, 2004.
Unpretentious & bristling with strong images. I particularly like the terseness of "A Summer Away" - like a telegraph, almost. Nice debut, Susan!
Posted by: dave | October 09, 2004 at 05:52 PM