Daytimes, she had a job
cleaning rich folks' houses;
she quite enjoyed it, she said,
seeing how the other half lived;
but evenings, she worked a shift
at our local laundry – ‘bag-wash’,
more often than not. Her hands
were always red raw; she hated
that place and so, in a way, did I.
I wanted her to tuck me in
at nights, and not have to cringe
at the feel of the old man’s whiskers...
her cheek I wanted to feel on mine...
her lips I wanted to tell me, ‘Sleep tight.’
Wanted to see moonlight, glint
on her bangles, to hear them jingle,
growing ever fainter as she’d tiptoe
away; like it did in the old days
when my real dad was there.
Too young, as I was then,
to know the true meaning of love –
or a thing about the putting of clothes
on children’s backs on a night
too cold... even for snow.
Comments
skinner_jennifer | December 21, 2010 - 17:55
Hi Tina,
It's so sad when as children there are things about
adults that we don't understand.
I hope I have this poem right, is it about a childs
mother going out to work and the child just wanting
her to be there?
I think my son felt this way, when I was a single
parent, I had to keep down three jobs, to keep
paying the morgage. It's a horrible thing having to
leave your child to go out to work.
Jenny.
Silver Spun Sand | December 21, 2010 - 18:00
it is about just this, Jenny;-) The laundry where my mother worked was at our local hospital and she worked so hard. From there she progressed to the kitchens, which was even worse.
Didn't appreciate how hard she'd worked, until it was too late, of course.
Thanks for reading, and for sharing.
Tina
JoseHdz | December 22, 2010 - 01:07
lovely.
Silver Spun Sand | December 22, 2010 - 08:50
Thank you;-)
Tina
Highhat | December 22, 2010 - 13:32
Yes lovely
;)Pia
Silver Spun Sand | December 22, 2010 - 14:07
And thank you, Pia;-)
MistakenMagic | December 22, 2010 - 22:43
An intriguing poem, Tina. I love the child perspective - so innocent and beautiful. Well done!
Magic xxx
Silver Spun Sand | December 23, 2010 - 08:38
Thanks so much, Magic;-) Pleased you enjoyed
Tina xxx
Kahdai | December 24, 2010 - 22:54
Aaw nice to meet little Tina, I am sure your mother knew love from you, even if you didnt like her working then, its a lovely poem that most people will know too and great because then think of our own mothers xxx K
Silver Spun Sand | December 25, 2010 - 12:11
Hi there, Kahdai. I am sure my mother did know how much I loved her, but it makes me sad that I never really got to know her. She got Alzheimers when only in her fifties and died a few years later. So very tragic.
Thanks for reading and commenting so empathetically, as always, kahdai.
T;-)x
Kahdai | December 27, 2010 - 20:38
Well I hope you realize ofcourse you knew her well enough xx K
Silver Spun Sand | December 28, 2010 - 08:59
Very true, Kahdai:-)
Tina x