Saturday, January 12, 2013

A palace of their own




A palace of their own 


They walk on tiptoes
hoping the house is
quiet - 
Tiptoe past their
sleeping mother, deeply drunk
a book of poetry, for virtue 
open unread on the  floor of what she 
meanly, mockingly calls 
their 'palace'
this dank, sad, unclean 
place 

They the small boy and girl 
tiptoe 
backwards from the room with soft
small footfalls diminishing and 
With their wish bestowed 
silently slip
through the back door 

The stars
smiling as each child breaks into
laughter, running hard and barefoot
hands entwined 

Just as though they
were any other brother and sister
and their mother a fine kind lady
who bends to kiss them goodnight 
In a real palace
called home



28 comments:

  1. Sad, but a wonderful use of the wordle words to paint a scene and tell a story.

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  2. 'sleeping mother, deeply drunk' gave it away a bit... but the last stanza still packed a hefty punch...

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  3. Pearl this is beautiful, heartbreaking and in truth as you well know, they are like many brother's and sisters, some live in squalid exterior homes and still others in nearly palatial edifices... all longing for a mother to tenderly bend and kiss them goodnight.

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  4. such sadness, such truth, well done

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  5. The hard reality is that there are indeed situations like this in the world, and you have described this particular one with great skill and tenderness.

    Whirling with Bram Stoker

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  6. Oh, this is so sad... but I love that the kids have a way to "escape"...

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  7. The imagination of kids, sometimes all we have to hope and live for. Very good poem

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  8. Very sad! Some children have the worst of conditions to grow up in.....but one can hope that they are able to overcome these obstacles and grow up to live in a different way.

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  9. Imagination and laughter are two important components in finding balance. And having someone to share them with is priceless.

    Elizabeth
    http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/once-again/

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  10. So much sadness... so subtly woven in your words. Well done!

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  11. oh Pearl... There is deep sadness here. Some children have amazing resilience,others are forever damaged... Thank you for shedding light in the darkness.

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  12. Sad yet truthful for some. Lovely write

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  13. You have reminded me of my youth. But for different reasons...the parents slept through morning breakfast, and we, the children quiet for an unjust fear of waking them...would attempt escaping to places where we/they could safely play and forget the present.

    Thank you for your visit and continued support to my Wordle story verse. Much appreciated.

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  14. Oh so sad and moving Pearl. Wish this scenario didn't exist for children. Thank you for bringing a sharp, real view to the whirl this week. :)

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  15. There is such a full world built in so few words. The lives of the people fully understood from the shadows and symbols, from the brokenness and the hopes.

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  16. Heartbreaking and imaginative. All the characters are sympathetic . . . the mother because of her attempt at virtue through poetry - and not being able to dull her pain except through drink. The children... finding beauty in the midst of pathos. I think it is what makes children resilient. Lovely poem.

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  17. If only she could open her eyes and see what makes her palace a home.

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  18. Powerful, powerful... especially the last line. I too wish this was only a fiction, something that never happens in real life. Maybe the day will come, someday, when a story can begin with once upon a time... and the listeners will gawk and exclaim, no way... this could NEVER have happened!

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  19. So sad. Like the children, I was happy to escape with them and overhear their laughter.

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  20. This is heart-wrenching and so excellently portrayed! I wish too, that we knew it was fiction and that none of us knew where those 'palaces' exist.

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  21. Poignant beyond heart-break and heart-ache, just because of its simplicity and touching with that ease, real-life - too many household bear a sad resemblance to what you've written Pearl and the more relate-able something is, the harder to take...beautifully rendered.

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  22. Thank you each and all - I suppose the plight of the innocent and oppressed as so keenly symbolized by children is always with me - the Wordle words call their stories too often for this not to be the case. I too wish for a world where such things are the stuff solely of imagination. I appreciate you stopping and commenting.

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  23. You manage to convey both the despair and the joy here. Nicely done.

    http://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2013/01/13/feckless/

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  24. Pearl, this was sad, but those kids are resilient. They will endure, I think, and be closer for the struggle. Elegant use of the Wordle! Love, Amer
    http://sharplittlepencil.com/2013/01/14/the-royal-pain/

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  25. The "escape" is well-deserved and comforting, even if just momentarily. Missed reading your worded wonder, my friend.

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