Auden too. Auden continually edited, even his most famous poems. ]]>
Memorial Day Morning
in an Iowa Cemetery
Stray scraps of gray wool weave
above ancient humus, new grass.
Purple irises in aluminum foil
guard names on ordered marble.
Breeze embraces earthworms,
lilacs, a child’s laughter shushed.
Old farmers finger dull medals,
shattered boy memories unvoiced.
A family encircles a slight stone
leaving them wordless long ago.
Minister’s wife assembles children
to place plastic wreaths on cue.
Taps from lone high school bugler
patter off grain elevator on Main.
Later, iron gates keen in rusty alto,
meadowlarks resume their matins.
Julia Meylor Simpson
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I get all the images about the tough world, and daily street killing, and so it goes on. Strong, yes. But would a mother really send her child off to school right after watching her dad shot down. Would you? If not, why is it okay to assume that another mother -- even one who supposedly sees death everyday -- would send her child off to school? Or is this a stereotype? I ask because I think the question begs to be asked. ]]>
It looks like a beautiful book. Congratulations! Maybe you could tell us a bit about the back story. How did it come to be? Had you sent it to other contests? What did it teach you? ]]>
Julia
took the never-ending book quiz.
| questions answered: | 945 |
| correct: | 559 (59.2%) |
| skipped: | 337 |
| best streak: | 13 |
| questions added: | 0 |
Margaret,
Did you mean to post your poem in the October poetry contest? I'm not sure why you posted it here. ]]>
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Quite a story about the Muslim world from a woman's viewpoint. ]]>