1533: I've Got A Secret | Kathi Wolfe
"I've Got a Secret"
Kathi Wolfe
Mr. William Hatfield from West Virginia whispers
to Mr. Gary Moore in New York City. My dog
Brownie was dropped in an abandoned coal mine.
I dug for 31 days to get him out!, he says. Wow,
I think, for real? Would I do that if Sparky
got stuck somewhere cold and dark and under the earth?
It's 8 o'clock, and I'm in New Jersey watching
television, because, for once, I've done my homework,
and Mom and Dad want me out of their way
so they can have, what they call, "a discussion."
Mr. Henry Morgan and Mr. Bill Cullen wear suits
and bow-ties. Their shirts have no wrinkles
and are tucked in perfectly. I bet they never
get their hands dirty like my Dad did when
he picked up a cat named Molly who'd been hit
by a car and put her on the operating room table.
There was so much blood! His untucked shirttails
were stained with blood spots and guts.
Don't tell Mrs. Frank how beat up her kitty looks,
he said, it's a secret just between us.
Miss Betsy Palmer's and Miss Bess Myerson's
dresses are always glamorous. My Mom only
gets that dressed up on New Year's Eve.
Like Mom, they smoke Winstons. But they're
princesses, holding their cigarettes. Sometimes,
especially in the early morning, Mom is a witch,
growling for a ciggie. Don't tell your Dad, I'm
smoking, she says, He and the doctors say I
should quit. It's a secret just between us.
Mr. Hatfield is talking about Brownie. He
was down there for 18 days before I started digging,
he says. In the middle of Brownie's story,
Dad yells to Mom, You weren't with our
daughter at Girl Scouts last Monday,
were you? You were with John! Don't
deny it! I found his phone number in your
purse. If you're going to fool around,
don't lie about it. Do you want out?
This program is brought to you by Dream Whip.
I stop listening to the TV.
I hear screaming and glass shattering
from the other room. Yes, I was with John,
Mom says, but it didn't mean anything.
You don't look at me! You don't touch me!
You used to dance with me. I may be sick,
but I'm still a woman. John and I tangoed;
he said I looked beautiful; he kept me warm.
I try to remember if I went to Scouts last
Monday. It seems so long ago! Why
would Mom tell a lie? I go to Mom and Dad,
trying not to cry. Why are you so mad,
I ask. We'll tell you later, Mom says,
for now that's a secret between your Dad and myself.
On this day in...
2011: "Anniversary" by Cecelia Woloch
2010: Weekend, no poem
2009: Weekend, no poem
2008: "Teaching a Nephew to Type" by Rebecca McClanahan
2007: "Prayer of St. Assisi"
I lie here in a riot of sunlight/watching the day break and the clouds flying./Everything is going to be all right.
Kathi Wolfe
Mr. William Hatfield from West Virginia whispers
to Mr. Gary Moore in New York City. My dog
Brownie was dropped in an abandoned coal mine.
I dug for 31 days to get him out!, he says. Wow,
I think, for real? Would I do that if Sparky
got stuck somewhere cold and dark and under the earth?
It's 8 o'clock, and I'm in New Jersey watching
television, because, for once, I've done my homework,
and Mom and Dad want me out of their way
so they can have, what they call, "a discussion."
Mr. Henry Morgan and Mr. Bill Cullen wear suits
and bow-ties. Their shirts have no wrinkles
and are tucked in perfectly. I bet they never
get their hands dirty like my Dad did when
he picked up a cat named Molly who'd been hit
by a car and put her on the operating room table.
There was so much blood! His untucked shirttails
were stained with blood spots and guts.
Don't tell Mrs. Frank how beat up her kitty looks,
he said, it's a secret just between us.
Miss Betsy Palmer's and Miss Bess Myerson's
dresses are always glamorous. My Mom only
gets that dressed up on New Year's Eve.
Like Mom, they smoke Winstons. But they're
princesses, holding their cigarettes. Sometimes,
especially in the early morning, Mom is a witch,
growling for a ciggie. Don't tell your Dad, I'm
smoking, she says, He and the doctors say I
should quit. It's a secret just between us.
Mr. Hatfield is talking about Brownie. He
was down there for 18 days before I started digging,
he says. In the middle of Brownie's story,
Dad yells to Mom, You weren't with our
daughter at Girl Scouts last Monday,
were you? You were with John! Don't
deny it! I found his phone number in your
purse. If you're going to fool around,
don't lie about it. Do you want out?
This program is brought to you by Dream Whip.
I stop listening to the TV.
I hear screaming and glass shattering
from the other room. Yes, I was with John,
Mom says, but it didn't mean anything.
You don't look at me! You don't touch me!
You used to dance with me. I may be sick,
but I'm still a woman. John and I tangoed;
he said I looked beautiful; he kept me warm.
I try to remember if I went to Scouts last
Monday. It seems so long ago! Why
would Mom tell a lie? I go to Mom and Dad,
trying not to cry. Why are you so mad,
I ask. We'll tell you later, Mom says,
for now that's a secret between your Dad and myself.
On this day in...
2011: "Anniversary" by Cecelia Woloch
2010: Weekend, no poem
2009: Weekend, no poem
2008: "Teaching a Nephew to Type" by Rebecca McClanahan
2007: "Prayer of St. Assisi"
I lie here in a riot of sunlight/watching the day break and the clouds flying./Everything is going to be all right.