Friday, January 2, 2009

for Richer or Poorer for Sunday Scribblings

Bills were balloons
inflated fatter
than our income.

Payday was a hungry
week away. The fridge
wasn’t empty

but contained
mostly condiments.
For supper

we broke
into the kids’
piggybanks

and bought hotdogs,
chips and dip, then
spread a blanket

in front
of the open-faced
woodstove,

cooked our dogs
on sticks,
and had a picnic.

35 comments:

paisley said...

and the memories i am sure fonder than those of the times when things were plentiful.....

Anonymous said...

I think I've complimented you before with a ref. to W.C. Williams. I do like your poetry. It's spare, down to earth, and works.

Anonymous said...

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anthonynorth said...

And what a memorable event it would have been, not touched by affluence, which takes so much humanity away.
Lovely.

Granny Smith said...

In a similar situation we bought day-old bread and bread-and-butter pickles and went car-camping - all six of us sleeping in the dry car surrounded by rain and with breakers pounding on the rocks below the spot our car was parked. The (now-grown) children remember it as one of our best weekends!

Rinkly Rimes said...

Our fondest memories are concerned with the emotions, not with the material life.

Unknown said...

Very nicely worded. I like the conciseness and the lack of sentimentality.

latree said...

do you believe if i told you that i have been there?

AZAKAMARINA said...

My dear friend,
I liked the wordings written by you.i liked the 2nd para- ''payday was.......piggy banks''
thanks for sharing your lovely poem with us.
friend,
i have posted my 2nd poem in my blog.
please do read me
Azakamarina....

Anonymous said...

the human spirit always seeks to find a way...

Anonymous said...

I like the sparse way of saying it..

For richer and/or poorer

Heather said...

I really like that!

Anonymous said...

i really like your writing.. especially the first three lines for some reason.

and the end, the imagery in front of the woodstove, cooking hotdogs on sticks and having a picnic :) it's very nice and reminds me of "life is beautiful". always finding the little things that are still so enjoyable of the moment despite whatever hardships you may have..

Michelle said...

Hi Linda!
I love your poem!
I think lots of us have felt our bills being like balloons inflated fatter than our income - well put!
Simple moments like an indoor campfire can be the most lasting and sweet. I remember as a kid we seemed to lose electricity with every thunderstorm, I grew to look forward to it since it typically meant a game of cards with candlelight!
Cheers & Happy New Year!
~Michelle

JulMarSol said...

For richer or poorer...we tend to find the means, or may I say, they are put before us by One greater than us. The phrase should read, "for richer or poorer, but richer, nonetheless". Isn't it how it turns out in the end? Great poem!

Andy Sewina said...

Memories, sometimes I wonder how we all survived those old dark days, or was/is it all in my imagination.

PS I noticed that they had Buffalo Wings on the menu at my local pub today. Small world!

Tammy Brierly said...

I look forward to more of your delightful poems in 2009.

totomai said...

aside from the poem itself, i have to commend the line breaks here. really really appropriate. :-)

Noelle Dunn.... A Poet in Progress said...

Gosh, Linda I can relate to this! I like your poems, they are so reachable.

Noelle Dunn.... A Poet in Progress said...

and one more thing Linda, that will be remembered as a fun indoor picnic and not we had no money so we raided the piggy banks...Mothers have a great way of making everything situation seem right.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes its the simplest of things that we can be the most grateful for.

present said...

My fondest memories are when we had so little and found fun in walks in the woods, playing games and having indoor picnics.

Anonymous said...

You surely have gained the richness of life. Very Nice write!

Anonymous said...

Hi Linda,
Upbeat, too the point and showing necessary survival skills. "stone soup"...I wish you could have made do without worries. (I'm assuming you worried because I've been there in childhood... and then again in adulthood and couldn't write about it today.) I especially liked the opening 3 lines of this poem.

Anonymous said...

oh, my parents needed to raid my piggybank...and more, but I understood-even when it was never able to be repaid.

Anonymous said...

A wonderful poem about a wonderful moment in time.

Tumblewords: said...

Special memories come from the most unexpected places. Wonderful poem!

Giggles said...

Amazing memories were born!! Wonderful and really a very rich life! I remember counting coin for a perogy dinner with my hubby, 36 years ago. Then we were over....I'm grateful for that too!

Well done as always!

Hugs Giggles

quin browne said...

been there, and you made it seem a place we wanted to be...

Anonymous said...

Prfect post for this theme :)
good job !!

Anonymous said...

I remember these days and surviving until payday by eating free cereal samples from the grocery store! Your poem says it all with joy.

"Sunshine" said...

Great poem!

Anonymous said...

An utterly perfect response to the prompt. Well done.

JM @ WriteAnyway.com

Kilauea Poetry said...

This is great and it's warm-

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