A Golden Shovel poem inspired by:
“A pink house trailer,
scuffed and rusted, sunken
in weeds. On the line,
Five pale blue workshirts
up to their elbows
in raspberry canes—
a good clean crew
of pickers, out early,
sleeves wet with dew,
and near them, a pair
of bright yellow panties
urging them on.”
from “Laundry” by Ted Kooser
Reflections
By Monty Vern
She licks her upper lip, coating it with a
Slick layer of shine, highlighting the pink
Pigment of knock-off Tom Ford she stole from the main house
Up the dirt road from her trailer.
She checks out her long legs in their scuffed
And
Red heels in the rusted
Sheet metal mirror on the wall, her sunken
Cheeks appearing elegant only in
Her mind, where flowers bloomed from weeds.
She puts on
A pout, the
Kind of pout intended to catch the men on her line;
She imagined reeling in the cute one among the five
That sat on the liquor store steps under the single pale
street light drinking Blue
Ribbon in their grease-stained workshirts
Rolled up
To
Their
Elbows.
She sucks in
Her mentholated tobacco breath, tasting raspberry
Sweetened naturally with sugar canes
Grown down south where belles like her belong, in a
Home among good,
Clean
Folk that watch over the crew
Of
Sugar cane cutters, or perhaps it’s the raspberry pickers?
She puffs out
Her breasts, one nipple poking out of her sagging dress, an early
Blossom coaxed out of its green spring sleeves
Glistening wet
With
Dew.
She reaches her bony arms up tall and
She near—
ly pushes them
Through the trailer roof to touch a
Thousand stars, Her dress rising above her sharp hips exposing a pair
of
Bright
Yellow
Painties
Urging
Them
On.
If you appreciated this golden shovel poem and want to give this creative technique a try, don’t miss the “Get Your Golden Shovel” collaborative project that is ongoing. Click here to link to the current prompt. Enjoy.
Be well,
Monty
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Monty’s Blahg 
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Your old friend Lillian
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Will do!
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