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1953

Posted: 29 Mar 2019, 09:36
by Kenneth2816
Holy smoke, they croaked
The Rosenbergs at Sing Sing.
Now the Reds have the A Bomb.

Monkies in space capsules,
Warning sirens in town,
Sonic booms that once, made
My mother drop the meat loaf
On the linoleum and swear.

At school, the teacher conducted
Duck-and-cover drills, her face
A forced and distant rictus,
The President on television
Talking about fallout shelters


On nights when our parents played
Canasta with the neighbors,
We kids would sneak down
To the basement, make a fort
From a tarpaulin and saw horses.

Stolen bowl of Chex Mix and
My father's green Army flashlight,
We would argue over who would
Best beat back the Commies:
Dick Tracy, Palooka Joe, or Superman.

Re: 1953

Posted: 30 Mar 2019, 20:18
by BobBradshaw
Good contrasts and good irony, a strength of yours....the distances between potential Armageddon and the perspectives of how everyone perceives those threats are striking...one nitpick: the comma after "once"

Re: 1953

Posted: 01 Apr 2019, 01:07
by Kenneth2816
Thanks Bob. It's pregnant with and overly dependent on era references. I've nor been able to focus much on writing lately. Still, better to wrote ten mediocre poems than none

Re: 1953

Posted: 07 Apr 2019, 06:09
by Michael (MV)
Kenneth2816 wrote:
01 Apr 2019, 01:07
Thanks Bob. It's pregnant with and overly dependent on era references. I've nor been able to focus much on writing lately. Still, better to wrote ten mediocre poems than none
^^ "It's pregnant with and overly dependent on era references. "

Kenneth,

The list/catalogue is aptly selected, and is in service to the narrative, at the micro level(the family) & the macro(the year).

Take a look/read w/ the 2nd stanza as the opener. Open w/ the Monkies; see how it bookends w/ the children mimicking the parents & the grown-ups of this society.

😎

Michael (MV)

Re: 1953

Posted: 07 Apr 2019, 07:47
by Kenneth2816
Thanks