Cape Kiwanda, North, with Seagull, Pastel, by John Cummings
Redacted
I swear some days
it’s like walking in deep snow
or climbing a ladder that is
missing rungs in random places.
But that’s alright. I don’t mind
that life can be hard sometimes.
One day your rooster wins
first prize at the fair. The next
your birthday party is ruined
when the bouncy house blows away
in a storm. Honestly, most of the time
it’s all I can do to keep the noisy
helicopter of my mind from lifting off
and nosing its way into thoughts
that aren’t helpful. Every valley
remembers the water that cut it
even if it’s dry now. Even if it’s
the middle of the day and the spiders
that crawl through the cobwebs
in your chest are at rest. Don’t bother
getting an X-ray though. Some things
are beyond medical science.
_____________
Patrick Meeds
Review by Claire Scott
The title is terrific. And I like the casual first line, pulling in the reader. “Climbing a ladder that is missing some rungs in random places” really unnerving. As thought the poet is climbing in the dark. Which of course we all are. Then we are reassured: “But that’s alright.” But it really isn’t. The writer is wrestling with life’s uncertainties. I wonder if your two examples would be better if they reflected the same age child. Or maybe reverse the order since a rooster winning first prize seems to be about a child older than the child with the bounce house. The writer is saying this lesson was learned long ago. “Honestly” further draws the reader in. I love the metaphor of the helicopter, especially “nosing its way into thoughts that are not helpful.” We can all relate to that. And yet memories don’t simply disappear when the valley is dry. Nice work. The last two sentences say it all. Not all of life is analyzable in the lab. A wonderful ending.