"Had I to shelter my new weaned lambs"

Virgil

Who cares if the neighbor child's  suffering spaniel  is loose

in the yard with it's pink collar and overturned food bowl?

Who cares if the dahlia bulbs have tried to sprout out of soil

looping their roots around trifling doll swings?

Who cares if Nana still chaws her lower lip with snuff

but that it's spewer seeps into her Nexium and drives her mad?

Who cares if the bomb cyclone came and went forevermore

to give the old folks zest? Because

Nana's dreams have gotten louder.

Because rose buds think they are as the hyacinth flawed by water. 

Think of them as the girls in first grade playing yellow disc

with bones protruding from their knees. Think of wisdom.

Because having it is like being without pain. You dance a

tzitzit  at her coronation. You play house. Tea party.

You dig the hole and bury the dead dog. You say a prayer

for the one thing that has no soul. You drag a new puppy home

by it's loose leash. Teach him emotions; to beg.

We gather together to intervein her lover. He is damaged.

He is flawed. In the beginning he combed his hair backwards.

Had a tattoo on his neck. He had no job but loved to dance.

"My feet hurt but my b***s are small" she would say.

We let him stay in the spare room. He told your little

broken one he loved her.

He lied.

Reviews

[Beccy]

I wonder sometimes how our species has survived for so long, (though in reality 'tis just a blink of the creators eye.)

There are many who would rather lie than be truthful, even if the truth road is the easier to traverse; this I can say with truth, though not great pleasure.

You write as ever in such a fascinating and unique fashion.

Beccy.

[h d e rushin]

thank you dearest Beccy for your kind remarks....dana

[John Alexander McFadyen]

This amazingly constructed piece is a tribute to someone loved who has been wronged. The simalies used to put this forward make us all cringe in suplication!

[h d e rushin]

thank you my friend for stopping by to visit me....dana

[Robert Trakofler]

holy crap Dana, when you paint a picture its as vivid as a high definition movie. Your voice is as unique as they come... for the love of god don't ever stop writing it. this is all beautiful imperfection of perfections in your reflections! okay don't know what yellow disc is but in my looking it up found this....
a psychological tool and it's definition of the yellow disc category.....
General Characteristics Enthusiastic. Trusting; Optimistic. Persuasive. Talkative. Impulsive. Emotional.
Value to Team Creative problem solver. Great encourager. Motivates others to achieve. Positive sense of humor. Negotiates conflicts; peace maker.
Possible Weaknesses: More concerned with popularity than tangible results. Inattentive to detail. Overuses gestures and facial expressions. Tends to listen only when it's convenient.
Greatest Fear: Rejection.
Motivated By Flattery, praise, popularity, and acceptance. A friendly environment. Freedom from many rules and regulations. Other people available to handle details.

.....kind of thought this was ironical

[h d e rushin]

you got me smiling Bad.....thanks for those wonderful words my friend...dana

[kentuck14]

Dana,
This poem is loaded with explosive images! All pointing to a sad situation that is outlined in the final verses. It sounds to me like one dealing with futility . . . the "who cares" a way of shuffling off a hard reality. Beginning with "think of wisdom" I see a transition . . . a confrontation on the speaker's part, an intervention.
"My feet hurt but my b***s are small." An interesting statement. Perhaps the speaker is saying: I'm trying to keep up with my man's obsessions and "terms of endearment", but all the while losing confidence in myself . . . feeling less of a person . . . self-esteem at an all time low. This is a haunting poem of situations that happen all too often in our crazy world. Congratulations on a evocative poem.
Tom

[h d e rushin]

thank you tom......amazing words my friend...dana

[redzone]

it seems to me Dana, there are two famous quotes from Virgil that applies here to your poem.. (I looked up Virgil to find them)… "as a twig is bent the tree inclines", which I think relates to the first part of your poem in how often caring determines how we see ourselves as we grow, how we are "bent" by circumstances around us... and the second quote, "press no further with hate" and how because of her bending, she still did not hate him for his lies...

reminded me how so often abused women will stay married or forgive their abuser since they share his view that they 'deserve the punishment and because they believe his lies he loves her and will change... and how hard it is to "wean" them from this abuse, even if we shelter them and help them...

as may be the case, that I have misread your poem's intent or meaning, none the less your writing is powerful in its abstract emotional punch Dana... by abstract I mean that you allow us to actually see the words as art as well as see the poet.... I enjoy reading your words Dana....

[h d e rushin]

thank you redzone and I agree with you since my sister lived with her abuser for years and I often wondered why she made excuses for this behavior. He answer was usually something about how getting older made it impossible for her to "go Looking" again/ or that there was more to like about him than the black marks on her shoulder that we saw. Thanks for the beautiful Virgil reference my friend. Some of his poems were thick and enveloped slowly the examples of human morphological-myth-making. While others were of his love for Rome and it's many febrile sensations.....thank you my friend for those kind remarks...dana

[jacob erin-cilberto]

what i see here is what happens when people who just can't really handle them, take on pets, have children without understanding that they need to be raised, fed, clothed, loved...
getting them is fun...taking care of them is work....and those who have children or pets out of love...are automatically addicted to nurturing them.
they have them for the right reasons.
j.

[h d e rushin]

that's right...having a dog is like having an autistic child. They are so often aware of those communicating around them but they are themselves limited to noises and leg rubs . Feeing is intuitive far more than it is acknowledgement. Little kids should have goldfish ,,,only. thanks for those kind remarks my friend. dana

[John the Baptist]

Many images of dogs and children in this one, both suffering from neglect by those responsible for them. That this neglect may turn really tragic is hinted at in the last lines about the lover. He apparently has designs on one of the children. Chilling.

PS: On a couple of occasions the contracted it's is used when the situation calls for the possessive its.

[h d e rushin]

thanks so much John the Baptist for those kind words and corrections are both appreciated and accepted...dana