First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

filed in Daily Life, Happy Ever After

Mothers of America, let your kids go to the movies

May 10, 2009 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Thanks to my wonderful Mom, who always encouraged me to get out of the house –

AVE MARIA, by Frank O’Hara, 1960

Mothers of America
              let your kids go to the movies
get them out of the house so they won’t
   know what you’re up to
it’s true that fresh air is good for the body
             but what about the soul
that grows in darkness, embossed by
   silvery images
and when you grow old as grow old you
   must
             they won’t hate you
they won’t criticize you they won’t know
             they’ll be in some glamorous
               country
they first saw on a Saturday afternoon or
   playing hookey
they may even be grateful to you
             for their first sexual experience
which only cost you a quarter
             and didn’t upset the peaceful
               home
they will know where candy bars come
   from
             and gratuitous bags of popcorn
as gratuitous as leaving the movie before
   it’s over
with a pleasant stranger whose apartment
   is in the Heaven on
             Earth Bldg
near the Williamsburg Bridge
             oh mothers you will have made
                 the little
                            tykes
so happy because if nobody does pick
   them up in the movies
they won’t know the difference
             and if somebody does it’ll be
                 sheer gravy
and they’ll have been truly entertained
   either way
instead of hanging around the yard
             or up in their room hating you
prematurely since you won’t have done
   anything horribly mean
                  yet
except keeping them from life’s darker joys
             it’s unforgivable the latter
so don’t blame me if you won’t take this
   advice
             and the family breaks up
and your children grow old and blind in
   front of a TV set
             seeing
movies you wouldn’t let them see when
   they were young

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