Monday, July 11, 2005

Here by Grace Paley

In today's first meeting of the Monday writing group, I used Grace Paley's Here as a trigger for writing and discussion:

Here by Grace Paley

Here I am in the garden laughing
an old woman with heavy breasts
and a nicely mapped face

how did this happen
well that's who I wanted to be

at last a woman
in the old style sitting
stout thighs apart under
a big skirt grandchild sliding
on off my lap a pleasant
summer perspiration

that's my old man across the yard
he's talking to the meter reader
he's telling him the world's sad story
how electricity is oil or uranium
and so forth I tell my grandson
run over to your grandpa ask him
to sit beside me for a minute I
am suddenly exhausted by my desire
to kiss his sweet explaining lips.

copyrightGrace Paley

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I could hug her and hug her if it weren't July 23, hot as hell and I'm too sweaty to hug anybody - except my son, who's arriving tonight from Europe - after almost 2 years am ready to hug him all right, sweat or no. I totally empathize with Paley here - the husband, the grandchildren, the achievement of being an old woman - the whole schmier. Puah