This concludes Civil War.

If you have not as yet read the previous parts,
Part 1:
Part 2:

3.

The South

But then!

The sound of a key in the door,

and the scraping of metal

and the heavy screech of

the police lock(1) wedged into the floor,

but coming free.

It was Aunt Selma checking up on her nephew!

Aunt Selma who left Uncle Nathan behind

while she performed this mitzvah

for her sister, Greta.

Aunt Selma, all five feet of her;

her white hair,

her eyes magnified behind her thick glasses,

“Ach! Steven, vere are yoo?”

She began to push through the old

glass double doors to the bedroom

while he screamed,

“Aunt Selma, don’t come in!”

And I dove for the floor

piling covers over me,

playing “lump,”

my heart pounding against

my naked chest.

“Everything’s ok, Aunt Selma,

Everything’s ok!”

But she wouldn’t budge:

She stood eagle-eyed

at the foot of the bed,

which had obviously been made good use of,

and covered with

prima facie evidence.

She took it all in and

prepared to issue the report

upon her sister’s return:

the bra, the panties,

the Kools, the condom wrappers,

the now bare pillows with two head imprints,

the Venetian blind slats,

but she never found me,

tan and terrified

playing “lump,”

shivering on the floor.

(1)in some older Manhattan apartments people used “police locks;” this was in the ’60’s; a long bar fit into a groove in the floor and was locked in place from the outside. It prevented the door from being pushed in. This was a very old building.

From the parallel universe of Yahoo:

• JacquiBB

I was such an incredibly good good until after I went to college. I find myself living vicariously through you exploits. You did all the thinks I never dared

Tuesday March 11, 2008 – 01:28pm (MDT)

• Frani

Way Cool!! :~D
What a fab surprise this is! I loved, loved, loved, hearing you read.
Now, tell me, how did you do that? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Tuesday March 11, 2008 – 05:35pm (EDT)

• Velvet

Haha – this is gorgeous – and brings back some very choice memories for me too ;-D

Wednesday March 12, 2008 – 07:10pm (EST)

• JustJay
  

Awesome… Readings add so much to poetry. Bravo my friend. I have a few I could get you to read… hubba hubba.. lol SMILE

Wednesday March 12, 2008 – 06:51am (CDT)

• Nicholas V
  

Oh! A fitting conclusion! How charming ad so representative of that special time in your life.
Thank you for sharing these memories with such vivid imagery and such eloquent candour!

Wednesday March 12, 2008 – 11:19pm (EST)

• Jay

one can only grin – nice blinds!
Thank you for the comment – am rather speechless today but work on it.
And a lock that can’t keep out a nosey aunty isn’t a lock.

Wednesday March 12, 2008 – 06:35pm (CET)

• Kwika

Oh wonderful. Voice gives a new dimension to words thanks so much.

Thursday March 13, 2008 – 07:55am (NZDT)

• Kwika

Lol that sounds strange but I’m sure you know what I mean.

Thursday March 13, 2008 – 07:56am (NZDT)

 

29 CommentsChronological Reverse Threaded

reply kitcarson wrote on Mar 11, ’08 Now listening to “Torn” with shattered eardrums (always the rebel…I don’t follow directions well) with a pleasant smile on my face, brought by the vivid images of the “report” and the “lump” and Aunt Selma and the wonderful voice of your unlumpy self reading it to us followed by Natalie’s wonderful version of “Torn” is just simply a wonderful (how many times can I say that…is there a limit?) delight. Thank you Sue.

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Mar 11, ’08, edited on Mar 11, ’08 I’m glad Aunt Selma never found you, LOL!!! I really was not able to hear the poem even though I turned my volumn all the way up. That’s so clever, I’d like to try reciting, too.

reply mystied wrote on Mar 11, ’08 Applauds! I really enjoyed your recital of the poem, you brought it to life!

reply poetessgarden wrote on Mar 11, ’08 I love it, …and I too couldn’t hear it 🙁 I’ll be back to read the other 2 parts

reply millimusings wrote on Mar 11, ’08 LOL oh what an image this represents of the Young Lovers ..found out! Going great guns this little war.

reply gilesy01 wrote on Mar 11, ’08 Lucky escape. Were you scarred for life?

reply jayaramanms wrote on Mar 11, ’08 LOVE. Your love poetry is very much loved by me. The recital of the poem is also excellent. Thanks for sharing Sue. Now Please see my poetry for this Wednesdayhttp://jayaramanms.multiply.com/journal/item/86 and comment.

reply shankarg wrote on Mar 11, ’08 love itself is a secret, but then love making? a verse of Shakespeare in “as you like it” with little add ons! the link for the verse is http://shankarg.multiply.com/journal/item/53/2008-m049_-_Poetry_Wednesday_Passage-_11_March_16_30_hrs_Chennai_India

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Mar 11, ’08 gilesy01 said Lucky escape. Were you scarred for life? Probably! That’s why I remember this so clearly. But then I seem to remember EVERYTHING so clearly. Ergo, maybe I am REALLY scarred!

reply tylerh wrote on Mar 11, ’08 LOL! Needed that, rough day. I always got caught! Your reading is wonderful, as is your decription of that fear, the peering eyes

reply rajarishi wrote on Mar 12, ’08 thanks for sharing the secrets of love; u are very frank in many things, i am learning ur skill in expressing a style i started admiring My poem on “searching peace” is linked below: http://rajarishi.multiply.com/journal/item/6/Poetry_Wednesday_-_Searching_Peace-_005and regarding Tamil and the movie; your participation and open enjoyment, i should be thankful to you for the visit

reply suggar202 wrote on Mar 12, ’08 highly anticipated each Wednesday.. keeps me at the edge of my seat. Hugs…

reply starfishred wrote on Mar 12, ’08 are you sure your aunt didn’t see anything hehehehehe wonderful poem-your song torn just plays a snipet okay

reply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Mar 12, ’08, edited on Mar 12, ’08 So…did Aunt Selma report to her sister as would be suspected? Obviously, this was a well remembered event for you . Your ability to recount this occurence with such detail and imagery is wonderful! Bravo! PS. Had the volume cranked up all the way and the video reading was hard to hear. ..just wanted you to know. Mwah!

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Mar 12, ’08 sweetpotatoqueen said So…did Aunt Selma report to her sister as would be suspected? Obviously, this was a well remembered event for you . Your ability to recount this occurence with such detail and imagery is wonderful! Bravo! PS. Had the volume cranked up all the way and the video reading was hard to hear. ..just wanted you to know. Mwah! Probably did report! Well, we were kids and we soon got married, what was I thinking? Easy way to get out of the house. Who would think that in just a few years he would be sick and die?

reply bostonsdandd wrote on Mar 12, ’08 OMG! ROTFLMAO. I can FEEL your embarrassment shining through so well. I bet you about died. And then after she left, *Sigh*, the laughter and love that was shared. Oh! I think I’m going to cry at the thought of it :o(.Wonderful AS always, Sans!

reply fluffyj wrote on Mar 12, ’08 Wow! I can’t imagine ever moving out from under the covers. I can’t imagine someone pushing through a lock to ‘investigate’ like that. The sense of violation of having someone burst in combined with the fear of being discovered.. what a mix of emotions!I loved hearing you read the poem. I have always found reading my poetry out loud to someone to be quite terrifying. The only place I ever did that on a regular basis was my creative writing class, and even then, I found it very difficult. This was a delightful treat. I’ll hope you’ll do it with more of your poetry in the future.

reply aladybug wrote on Mar 13, ’08 Ha… she took everything but never found you!!! LOL!You have to tell us what happened… did you leave through the window as women’s lovers do in movies? Did you hide in the closet? Did you play “bear rug” on the floor?? Hahaha. 🙂 You really got me laughing here!That recording is great, good idea… The poem would have been great just read, but you provided the exact “spices” to the piece while reading it yourself.You are sooo funny, Sue!Hugs! 🙂

reply aladybug wrote on Mar 13, ’08, edited on Mar 13, ’08 Just for you to know… This recording for me was a lot better than the one you are using on the guestbook. I practically just heard you whispering (very far away) over there. The sound was pretty audible for me here in comparison.

reply mindsnomad wrote on Mar 13, ’08 LOL, that would have been the Heights of Embarassment. Did Aunt Selma’s Jaw make a “Ching” when it fell to the floor?

reply skeezicks1957 wrote on Mar 13, ’08 What a fun poem! I wish I could have heard the reading too. My system played it to softly.

reply sandpearl wrote on Mar 13, ’08 So cute Sue! I can picture Aunt Selma, and the lumpy you on the floor. Ah… if she has seen the lump shivering on the floor you will never know… Reading you has been a treat Sue, once again.

reply hurricanekate wrote on Mar 13, ’08 I love your voice to this.You know what………….you sound like the voice I hear in my head when I read you. You sound exactly how I envisioned.Sound here was great.I’ll never go back to reading text when it comes to poetry. Having it read………….is PHENOMENAL!

reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Mar 13, ’08 hurricanekate said I love your voice to this. You know what………….you sound like the voice I hear in my head when I read you. You sound exactly how I envisioned. Sound here was great. I’ll never go back to reading text when it comes to poetry. Having it read………….is PHENOMENAL! Yes, just a little bit ago I finally figured out how to record at the correct volume, and managed to edit this with another software I had. I’m really getting into this! Thanks Kate.

reply hurricanekate wrote on Mar 13, ’08 well….I meant it.xo

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Mar 13, ’08 I came back to try to hear it again. MUCH BETTER !!! By the way, I remember those police locks. The Cartegena family had one. Remember them ? I went to their house for lunch everyday because Mom worked and no one was home. They had one. They’re so ugly ! It’s a huge metal pole that’s wedged on the floor at one end and the other presses against the door. Anyway, great poem !!!

reply poetessgarden wrote on Mar 13, ’08 I came back too…your accent is about as cute as mine *wink* very expressive reader!

reply redheadgirl4 wrote on Mar 17, ’08 How fun to hear you read this! I love your voice!!! As for the poem, your vivid imagery made me feel how mortifying it was LOL. I have a feeling such an embarrassing situation may just strike a cord with a lot of people who have encountered the same kind of thing … why don’t the Aunt Selmas just wait outside when they are asked to? Thanks for sharing this, it made my day, as usual. Hugs!!!

reply asolotraveler wrote on Apr 11, ’08 I PARTICULARLY ENJOYED THE USE OF THE WORDS ‘NAKED’ AND ‘PANTIES’…. YOU HAVE A most EVOCATIVE VOICE… AND NICE ACCENT WHEN CALLED FOR TOO