“The Palimpsest of Living in Your Childhood Home” by Caitlynn Cummings
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “The Palimpsest of Living in Your Childhood Home” by Caitlynn Cummings.
The Palimpsest of Living in Your Childhood Home
By Caitlynn Cummings
1.
the north yard with the blossomy mayday
I gaze upon through my bedroom window
Flonase hits punctuating my daydreams
of other worlds
โTolkein, Auel, Careyโ
boom box spilling โBreatheโ across my double bed
faith my parents wonโt hear
when my boyfriend cuts the motor
glides up the back lane
and sneaks through my casement
2.
the mayday is heavy with black knot
corndogs wrapped in marshmallows
forgotten, burnt to a crisp in the fire
the bedroom is empty
the house echoes
with my fatherโs harrumphs
and the empty Stolis that clink
on his bedside table
3.
our landscaping efforts have finally migrated
to the fourth side of the house
the โnorth yardโ
the โgarden we forget aboutโ
the โthicketโ
now, a winding path through the unkillable meadow
of snow on the mountain
flecked with painted ferns and icy hostas
leads to the shady patio
where samaras make their way into our aperitivi
when the sunโs too hot
the kids stand upon the diseased stump
of the mayday daddy felled
surveying the vast sweep of microclover
they sprinkled with their own hands
the greenest turf for tag, soccer balls,
lying down to watch cumulus canvas
bordered not by the buzzed cotoneaster hedge
but how far their imaginations reach
my sonโs yard
he sees past his easel
through new double glazing
but the same rough opening
I fantasized about fleeing through
candy necklaces as sustenance
which I now try to soften
with leaf and petal
secateurs in a steady hand
artful pruning
keeping the overgrowth at bay
cultivating the calm
of a well-kept
childhood
Copyright ยฉ Caitlynn Cummings
Caitlynn Cummings helps travellers plan bespoke trips to Italy with her consultancy DOP Italian Travel and publishes her writing in places like CV2, New Writing Scotland, Italy Segreta, This Magazine, Alberta Views, ditch, and Cordite Poetry Review. Currently at work on a poetry collection about gardening and early motherhood, Caitlynn can be found weeding, writing, and raising the fifth generation on her Albertan family farm. Follow her exploits in sauerkraut and metaphor on Instagram @caitlynncummings.
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