Drawing by Susan C. Price
Passover
By Eric Meub
Passover
By Eric Meub
[Originally published on January 13, 2018]
A breakfast table mystery: I see
each section – Datebook, Sports, Society –
but not the front page. Mother starts to shrink
when asked about it, busy at the sink.
All morning long she hunts some missing thing,
or looks me over, as if pondering
what she might bear, or would she bear at all
her youngest getting tailored past recall.
Then Father, tennis done, attempts her poise,
although he knows the parents of the boys.
He’s in the kitchen, slicing up a pear;
the blade he’s gripping trembles in the air.
That night, the last commuter train bewails
the field the two are found in, near the rails.
I hear no bedtime story, other than
what’s left of them is rescued, buried in a van.
| Copyright © 2018, 2020 by Susan C. Price & Eric Meub Eric Meub, architect, lives and practices in Pasadena, the adopted brother of the artist, Susan C. Price. They respect, in their different ways, the line. |
Wow. I hope this doesn't mean what I think it means, but it is like a gut-punch. One thumb up for each of you!
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed a true memory that was triggered by Susan's drawing. The two boys lived, but neither would ever be able to father children. It was eye opening for me to learn what kind of world we live in. Thanks for the encouraging words.
ReplyDeleteGreat use of foreshadowing, great use of imagery, and the ending--yes--is a knockout punch. Unfortunately, our world is not always as safe and harmless as we wish it to be.
ReplyDelete