You smile
As you rip calendars
With your teeth,
Wanting
Summer to come soon,
Hopefully
This semester won’t take long,
Maybe
We won’t feel tomorrow.
The way your earrings dance
When you cock your head
Says cheerful small talk
Is your specialty.
But I hear death’s
Hollow shouts
Echoing in each drop of
Honey that slides
Down the sides
Of your mouth
And sticks
To the day planner
You clutch on your desk.
Carol Ann Hoel
Some startling imagery and contrasting characteristics. An eerie picture of charming woman with some mannerisms that tell another story, all connected with the passage of time, as if she suddenly aged, explaining the honey sliding down the sides of her mouth. Is this someone you know or have you written this just for fun? I enjoyed it. Blessings to you…
jacsprat
Yes, I do know the lady I wrote about. I talked to her right after Christmas break and she was eager for summer to come soon, as if she could only survive the several months in between by thinking about summer vacation. I just hate it when people wish their lives away.
Carol Ann Hoel
You have a remarkable talent for using words that form strong images. “You smile as you rip calendars with your teeth”. That is priceless! Ha! Thank you for the explanation. It adds special meaning to the word pictures.
When I read the lines about the honey sliding down the sides of her mouth, I thought of my sixth grade algebra teacher. She hated me. She thought I tripped her intentionally with my books, but I didn’t. I also didn’t understand algebra. That didn’t endear me to her either. She was quite elderly, and as she held the chalk in her hand, somehow she touched her mouth with it, and the chalk slid down the sides of her mouth. It’s a very vivid memory of mine.
Dawn
Both wishing their life away and covering over the life they have lived. I read cosmetic surgery into your words too. Nice work.
jacsprat
I guess we’re all guilty of wishing our lives away in some way or another, but that feeling of wanting to live just for the greener grass on the other side should be something we fight against, not embrace. Thanks for reading! 😀