I am sharing this poem I published for last week's dVerse Open Link Night ~~ it certainly represents a "slice of life" ~ it's one day of my life!!!
Grace offers this surrealist painting as inspiration for our poems today in the dVerse Poets Pub!
Kay Sage, entitled, My Room Has Two Doors (1939).
I am a student of 'the knock'
connoisseur of cadence
doctoral student in 'door percussion'
9:07 AM
Tippy-Tappy-Toppy / repeated three times
it must be Juliah, CTC Theatre Director
knocks like she's holding auditions
for 'Les Miserables'
playing all the parts herself
I open the door / she's already crying
10:14 AM
BAM! BAM! BAM! / BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
no subtlety / scant rhythm
has to be my nephew Chad
drummer without a band / guy who views
knocking as a form of warning
"BRACE YOURSELF / HE BRINGS CHAOS
and coffee [ the coffee saves him ]
12:42 PM
Scratch .. paw-scratch .. scratchily scratch
for sure / it's Kasper our cat
he thinks he's people
4:25 PM
TEXT MESSAGE ... "I'm knocking"
It's my granddaughter Jenn
no sound, just vibes
tells me doors are a social construct
8:00 PM
FRONT DOOR OPENS
great friend and neighbor Carolyn
pitcher of mango margaritas in one hand
appraisal in the other
tells me new sofa pillows are too large
says it with love. She's right.
8:00 AM / Tomorrow
ordering a doorbell / something classy
something that plays Coltrane / maybe Miles Davis!

I enjoyed reading and imagining the people knocking at the front door. Love this take Helen!
ReplyDeleteI love the feeling of this as I'm reading. "drummer without a band" - surely this does not exist!?
ReplyDeleteI so get this, Helen! I used to know the different knocks, but my hearing isn’t so good. I miss them. Now I have a doorbell that plays a decent tune, and I’ve turned up the volume so I can hear it. I like the shape and form of your poem, the onomatopoeia, use of capital letters, and love the ‘connoisseur of cadence’ and ‘doctoral student in 'door percussion'’. These lines made me smile:
ReplyDelete‘knocks like she's holding auditions
for 'Les Miserables'
playing all the parts herself’
and
‘Scratch .. paw-scratch .. scratchily scratch’ reminds me of one of my cats, Mojo, who also thinks she’s people.
I love this list and commentary on all your visitors, Helen, you always write with humour and humanity...
ReplyDeleteOh I love all those different knocks, the line that doors are just social constructs had me grin... get that doorbell.
ReplyDeleteThis is so wonderful, Helen! I love it!
ReplyDeleteJust utterly wonderful, Helen! I absolutely love all the different visitors at your door, especially your grand-daughter who thinks "doors are a social construct" and your friend who brings "margaritas in one hand, judgement in the other" - hilarious! 🩷
ReplyDeletewhat a marvellous percussive procession Helen - so clever!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun and what a creative mind you have, Helen!
ReplyDeleteDelightfully creative and present, Helen. And I loved the casual but poignant added word: "probably" that gave benefit to the doubt. :)
ReplyDeleteBusy but slow day. I like it, nice way to end. My son is a drummer for a garage band, sometimes the have a paying gig. Singers are a hard find.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the welcome back. Not sure I'll do much for dVerse, nor my meme blog. The group I was writing with has gotten small.
..
Very entertaining! (To read, if not so much to experience in person.) Well, sounds like you'll never be neglected or forgotten!
ReplyDeleteMayhem! At least you can put a phone on silent. Not so with a front door.
ReplyDeleteI'd love a doorbell like that!! Cool little slices of life but the neighbor with the margaritas is the best. Why can't I have one like that??
ReplyDeleteLove your take on this, Helen!
ReplyDelete