Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A Skittish Boy


(Me, aged roughly, 4 years old)
The Ancestors’ albums
All the photo albums of my family history
Are stored in the eves of the attic.
In the night the attic doors shudder in the wind,
And depending on the strength of the wind
Sometimes the rattling wakes you.

Queer memory

A hot summer tent, flap flailing in the breeze.
We climbed in and out, naked, blithe. Two boys uncovered.
Our clothes still inside. Our bodies without recoil.
Little luminous white skins not without a blemish.

In Art class,
We made Valentine cards
and marked our kisses with an X.
I never painted much always drawing
stick soldiers in battle scenes.
Later adding underground bunkers for safety,

now here I am
And I’m thinking,
(And the thinking screws it)
become a type writer,
a word dresser, an honesty monster.
Something straight along the line.

2 comments:

Jim Murdoch said...

This is a very interesting quintet of images, snapshots if you like although the first one is posed. I think this one would benefit from a more considered presentation. I know online we have to work within the limits of the applications and our programming abilities but I see this as a kind of family tree with the photo at the top and the four … what shall we call them? … vignettes in a horizontal row underneath. Or something like that. It works. I'd be interested to know the age of the kids in the tent. I certainly have memories of being naked around males when I was prepubescent when nudity was cheeky but nothing else.

McGuire said...

Totally agree, Jim, the photo album should be first, and lead into the rest. I have a nervous energy when writing that often makes me 'foggy' to the logical of my own planning or lack thereof. But, I believe, patience will come with time, and I will steady my writing as I continue to write. Always good to have an accurate eye making suggestions though.

As for the children in the tent..god, it was incredibly young, I wouldn't put it past being between the age of 4 5 or 6.

As ever thanks for your time and comment.