I’m not usually a snarky poet, so I surprised myself with my response to Glenda’s prompt on Ethical ELA Open Write: Double Consciousness American Sonnet.
Glenda took inspiration from Terrence Hayes’ book American Sonnet for my Past and Future Assassin. “I lock you in an American sonnet that is part prison,
Part panic closet, a little room in a house set aflame.”
I borrowed the opening line to write about a parking lot annoyance of mine, backing in. The title is a play on words. My grandson asked me if “pissed” was a bad word. Then he playfully asked about “piston”.
Parking Lot Piston
I lock you in your white Ford truck backed in over the yellow line.
You are not my kind, hefty and trumped
on four jacked-up off-road tires
designed to crush little people like me
with your oversized parts.
I won’t hitch up my skirt to take a ride.
I park nose-front & take my time
not to cross the line. I return
the wire buggy to the cart-horse paddock,
flash a fake smile to the sweaty boy
maneuvering the train.
I hold my superiority under my side slung purse
where my soft belly holds verses of quiet fortitude.
Margaret Simon, draft
Reflections on the Teche 