Reflections (a Golden Shovel)

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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

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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.

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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.

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Be well,

Monty

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