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Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 04 Sep 2018, 23:03
by Kenneth2816
Because when the boys said
"bee stings", the venom
made a home for itself.

I could not keep their
hands off of me.

Thirteen, the first time: Omerta.
A blood oath. I should have cut
his nuts off and wore
them like a pair of earrings.

Because if that's all they want me for
I'll make 'em not want me.

I'm invisible to men at this weight.
I dont care if my husband minds.
He's a scrawny little bastard.

Besides I could have married
the fool from that other poem
who jumps candles.

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 05 Sep 2018, 04:37
by Michael (MV)
 
Hi Kenneth,

good, creative persona-poem.

kinda recalls to me the wife of Bath


It's more a dramatic monologue(a la Browning) than an interview(Q & A)

^^ as the former, then title as "The Wife of Jack Sprat"
as the latter, then, "excerpt from an interview with Jack Sprat's Wife"

^^ I recommend the former, as the latter is too long - too wordy

However, moreover, (as just now, it occurs to me). don't mention Jack Sprat's Wife in the title; let the reader discover the subject from the voice/persona -

and as such, for a title: "from an interview"

^^ the reader is initially engaged to find out: an interview w/ whom?

8)

Michael (MV)




 
 
 
 
 
 

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 05 Sep 2018, 09:26
by BobBradshaw
I like the narrator's strong voice...no wilting flower here...but I don't get the bee stings reference....I'm probably just not aware...

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 05 Sep 2018, 12:50
by FranktheFrank
I like the originality of a poem about a fable.

Jack Spratt would eat no fat
his wife would eat no lean
and so between the both you see
they wiped the platter clean.

I too missed the significance of the bee stings.

I admire that you can make such original work from meagre sources
Jonah, Adam and Eve and now fairy stories.

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 05 Sep 2018, 14:35
by Kenneth2816
"Bee stings" is a derogatory term to denote the budding of a prepubescent female's nammaries.

Its effect is a kind of sexual shaming.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.urband ... s&amp=true

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 05 Sep 2018, 20:16
by BobBradshaw
ok, it makes sense now....good one

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 11 Sep 2018, 16:27
by Arciniegano
Kenneth2816 wrote:
05 Sep 2018, 14:35
"Bee stings" are anti snoring devices term to denote the budding of a prepubescent female's nammaries.

Its effect is a kind of sexual shaming.
Fascinating poem, Kenneth. I feel like it has so many layers. Read it a few times and it felt different each time.

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 11 Sep 2018, 20:10
by BobBradshaw
This strong, defiant woman who faces sexual assault is a memorable one....I would like to see her in more poems, just as I would like to see more Cuban poems....

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 12 Sep 2018, 13:01
by Kenneth2816
Arc, thank you.

Bob I like her too. Pretty sure she will be heard from again ( if I survive hurricane Florence👌

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 12 Sep 2018, 20:10
by BobBradshaw
Where do you live?

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 12 Sep 2018, 20:36
by Kenneth2816
North Carolina

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 12 Sep 2018, 21:28
by BobBradshaw
Ah, I have a cousin who lives there....lives near Asheville....do you need to evacuate?

I lived through one hurricane as a kid...power was out for over a week...winds so strong the rain passed through our walls...roofs sliding forward like tipped hats...shingles flying off like startled birds....neighbors grilling afterwards in the streets...as a kid it was a lot more fun than it was for the grown-ups...may you pass through the storm safely...and write a poem about it

Re: Interview With Jack Sprat's Wife

Posted: 12 Sep 2018, 23:28
by Kenneth2816
I live near Asheville too. I think we may be ok