Prodigal Sons/Daughters


from the ABC set Poetry

Ronald McDonald has fourteen children,
seven girls and
seven boys,
and they all shift uncomfortably
for the family photo,
in the white hot light
of a thick golden arch.
They all have the same hair as Ronald,
the same face,
and the same eyes,
all share the same elongated limbs,
and stretch with the same awkward uncertainty,
in fact, the family resemblance
would be really quite striking,
if only they all wore red and yellow suits,
but none of Ronald's children
has ever worn white make-up,
none of them ever seems to smile.

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Comments

ellydawn | February 27, 2008 - 13:45

I love this poem - it's difficult to pin down when it starts and I feel a bit uncertain as to where its going to take me - which I love and which makes the sadness of the last few lines all the more powerful.