Sunday, April 28, 2019
NO ESCAPE
I knew her when she was twelve
such a pretty girl
shoulda coulda been
Homecoming Queen
later on
but she was hemmed in
on all sides
by the trash
white trash
no one hauls it away
she never knew anything
but the trash
they say pull yourself up
by your bootstraps
break the cycle
but how can you
when no one hauls
the trash away
such a pretty girl
shoulda coulda been
a model
but there was no one around
to model a different reality
saw her a while back
overweight
overburdened
two little kids
each fathered by a different
dude
neither of whom could be seen
on the the local radar screen
each of them said
see you later
gonna take out the trash
and they hauled their asses
out of there
the only lie they never told her
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The roadside pathways are, every step of every day.
ReplyDelete__ Plastic has such helpful quality until discarded; plastic, my metaphoric meaning of any invented, everlasting... and then a discarded fault. >the only lie never told<.
_m
that preformed plastic
clutters our roadside pathways
avoiding the blame
stepping from responsible
our fingers never point back
Well said, my brother. I found it sad to write this poem, because of all those who grow up--whether it's with "white trash" or the trash that roams the streets of "the hood,"--these kids have got two strikes against them from the very beginning. And if you never know any other kind of life, you will more often than not fall right into that same cesspool as you grow up and repeat the cycle.
Delete__ You too, know of this Metaphoric Meaning. REpeat the CYCLE,
Deleteshould become, that moral aid toward humanistic Re-Cycle.
Ya … It always seems easier to run with the herd, isn't it, friend Tim? Dictators always thrived on the carrot or stick method. Every truth can turn into a lie in a split second,
ReplyDeletebut a lie exposed can never turn back into the truth, except that it is a lie.
https://youtu.be/wK2U0dYZeQI
Anyway. Love, cat.
Ya...uh, hold on...gotta take out the trash...
Deletethat is such a sad story- a victim of circumstances that could not be overcome... how many have been lost to such realities...
ReplyDeleteYes, it seems that many of us "follow along with the program," according to the example that was set by our parents, family and peers. Once in a while a child rises above that, but it's tough.
DeleteThought provoking poem If you don't get that break...a catalyst of some kind which changes everything for the better, you read of a story like this.Life can be very precarious.
ReplyDeleteI've long been fascinated by the nature versus nurture discussion. Is what's in our genes more of a determining factor of the choices we will make in life? Because I grew up in a less than ideal situation, and could have easily fallen into the same patterns as those who raised me, but I looked upon them as providing examples of how NOT to be, and reacted accordingly.
DeleteSad scenario ... and clever last line, emphasising the point.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rosemary. Yes, it is sad when you see great potential in someone and they just throw it away, although as the poem intimates, we often have those initial strikes against us that are difficult to overcome.
DeleteA most authentic portrait, quite heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteYes, Kerry. I thought of naming this poem "Model Behavior" because so many of us model what we see. The abnormal appears normal.
DeleteSuch a heartbreaking story! The systemic ways which oppress and repress people need more acknowledgment and so much more work to haul this trash away.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Thanks for checking in!
DeleteOh, I can see her, feel her difficulties and burdens. You are right, how could she have known Better was out there? Love the men hauling their sorry asses out of her life - doing her a favour, in the long run. Nailed it, Tim.
ReplyDeleteSo right, Sherry. We are a product of our environment in so many cases.
DeleteI can feel her pain. I know her. Sad what can happen when there is no one to show you the way out of a trap.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I was able to portray her in a way that all of that became visible. Thanks, Susie.
DeleteI wonder how you ever break such a cycle... trash is infectious... a virus of bad, and I can bet that one of her kids will be just as pretty.
ReplyDeleteThere is only one way of breaking the cycle that I know of, and that is to be someone who fervently wants more and better than that which they see around them.
Delete"but there was no one around
ReplyDeleteto model a different reality"
more cycles are repeated than elevated...
Some rise above it, most don't it seems.
DeleteEven pretty isn't always enough to break such a nasty cycle. Poor girl.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not nearly enough. When you think of how many people just follow along with the program...adopt the religion of their parents without giving in any thought...and fall into the dysfunctional patterns of parents and peers.
Delete