they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity…
Is it hereditary, father?
That we eat sour grapes?
Am I you? I need to write it down
Are my teeth are set on edge?
I blame you for our flare of flesh
For loving the high & imperious sun
I blame you for pride and vigor
The boob tube and sofa set rigor
I’ll tell you I don’t remember Kansas
Basement days or your loaded shotgun
The I-love-everyone-life-is-great-days
Your fists and arms in a fury of rage
I am damn sick of worrying I’m sick like you
Tell me I’m not; that these teeth are my own
after Carolyn Forche’s The Morning Baking
finely spun material 
Not sure I understand, but I like how it closed. I liked the couplet with vigor/rigor. You’re always fun to read, Mosk
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Thanks Mosk. I have a father who has struggled with depression all his life. It’s a chemical imbalance and I’d worried it was hereditary, but have been blessed with good health and a hopeful scripture promise. My problems are my own problems. My struggles don’t have to be handed down from my father.
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That was a powerful poem. The worry that you will inherit an illness – or even bad habits or morals from a parent is a real thing that many people struggle with and you captured it very well.
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Thanks for totally getting it Meaghan. I’ve made peace with it.
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Really powerful poem. I tend to struggle a bit with poetry as I yearn to understand and so I’m grateful for the tags as it helps explain the depth of meaning and feeling behind your words and also the title. Beautifully done.
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You set the mood so well with that series of opening questions, also with strong words, “loaded shotgun,” “fists,” and “fury of rage.” I loved these lines:
“I blame you for our flare of flesh/For loving the high & imperious sun.” (I keep reading “sun” as “sin!”)
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Well, sin is in-sin-u-ated 😉 thanks for reading and commenting Jennifer.
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I like how you used Forche’s poem for inspiration.
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The prompt came from a poetry writers workbook I checked out from the library.
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What’s the name of the workbook? I’m focusing on poetry of late and would love a good recommendation.
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The book is called the poets companion: A guide to the pleasures of writing poetry. By Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux.
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I prefer my old standard though: “In the palm of your hand: The poets portable workshop” by Steve Kowit.
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I enjoy reading poems and the inspiration from which the poem was taken. You captured the one-sided argument in the Caroline Forché work. And I like the spin you put on it. I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t mentioned it that the idea was taken from someone else.
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Inspiration always comes from somewhere, doesn’t it? Thanks for stopping in Nate.
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