I decided to do this week's poem in a style reminiscent of bigjacbigjacbigjac's, though I make my line breaks differently than he does. I do miss him around here. I wish him and his wife Tonya all the best and I hope he stops in again one of these days to share some of his poetic thoughts with us.
By the way, dear readers, any and all of you are welcome to do the same. Just drop me a Kosmail if the mood strikes you and we can make that happen.
Kalliope
Means "beautiful voice" from Greek καλλος (kallos) "beauty" and οψ (ops) "voice". In Greek mythology she was a goddess of epic poetry and eloquence, one of the nine Muses.
Join us every Tuesday afternoon at the Daily Kos community political poetry club.
Your own poetry is always welcome in the comments.
Bongos, berets & turtle neck sweaters optional.
The keyboard is mightier than the sword.
Family Similarities—and Differences
My late husband and I
Had a few things in common.
One was that we both had good
Relationships with our mothers
And not so good ones with our dads.
Another was that we both had only sisters.
It's the sisters I want to talk about now.
He had two, both older.
I had three, all younger.
He got along best with his oldest sister.
I get along best with my youngest sister.
Neither of us do/did as well with the middles.
His middle sister is a conservative christian,
While he and his other sister were/are progressives.
My two middle sisters think our parents
Favored me and my youngest sister over them.
The one closer to me in age, and I used to
Get along well as kids, but we had a falling-out
Years ago, and though we've mended fences, as
The saying goes, we seem to have forgotten
How to really talk to each other,
After all those years of not talking.
The younger middle sister and I
Never got along well as children.
And don't seem to have quite
Learned how to now, though we've
Grown up, supposedly, anyway.
I know she thinks I'm a deadbeat
Essentially, and I'm tired of being
Judged by someone who, even if
She is my sister, doesn't know me
At all. My youngest sister thinks
The reason my younger middle sister
Wanted to take on care of my mom,
In the wake of Alzheimer's running her
Down, was because she and my mom
Didn't get along that well when
We were all growing up.
They may have been too much
Alike, just as my dad and I were
Too much alike, in some ways.
So alike that we clashed,
My dad and I, and my sister and mom.
Clash and hurt, over and over and over again.
My dad's gone; I could never fix
That distance between us.
My mom's still here, but she isn't
Really; the Alzheimer's took her away.
So here we all are.
My husband's sisters don't
Have him any more, just as I don't.
Those differences that existed
No longer matter. As for
My sisters and I,
Whether or not things can
Get better, only time will tell.
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