Karla Huston: I work at Neenah High School, where I teach literature and writing, both of which are wonderful excuses to buy books--to read and learn and write myself. Although mostly a beginner, I have published some non-fiction, fiction and poetry in several local publications in the Fox Valley.
Grandmother
You fingered days by the chores
that demanded doing--
scrubbed dirt in copper-pail Mondays.
Ironed sharp creases into Tuesday work pants.
Wednesday and Thursday, you
baked 25 pound bags of bread,
stitched dresses from flowered sacks.
Friday, beat rugs and blistered knees,
coerced stains from sinks and tiled floors.
Saturday sewed itself into rag rugs,
strips pounded, fringed for use
other than towels and bread.
Waiting--until last, the bath water
you carried, turned milky and cold.
Even Sunday,
God looked away, while you
cooked and tended, children and men rested.
Grandmother,
you hemmed days, mended other's dreams,
while you stitched your hopes into pockets
of later and maybe and obey.
You bleached your own desire,
pinned it to stretchers to become
fragile as old lace.
Copyright Karla Huston 1996
How To Pray
Make a list. Decide if this is a prayer of thanksgiving, a meditation, a petition.
Fold youself into shadow, remember to ask, notice, respond.
always use present tense (god transcends time)
make your request positive (no whining)
banish doubt from your mind (you deserve it)
concentrate, conc-e-n-t-r- ...
True prayer is nothing but love--
All prayers are indeed answered.
Prayers of desire are heard.
Don't keep repeating yourself.
Just have faith.
Decide to claim what is really yours.
Notice your prayer has been answered.
Don't forget to say amen.
Fold your fingers into temples
and create your own forgiveness.
Copyright Karla Huston 1996
When Dogs Dream
they roll in beds of molting pheasants,
run naked through tangled skeins of cats.
Saucy dogs dance dirty in seas of tooth-puckered balls,
fish for treats in the bottom of cold shoes.
Sneaky dogs stash knotted socks in fur pockets,
wrestle white bones out of dark corners.
Old dogs chase fresh ground trouble,
strut in front of chorus lines of paper carriers.
Fresh dogs wink watery eyes, snuff cold noses,
smile out of both sides of their mouths.
Naughty dogs drink beer, stuff nosey muzzles
into underwear. They deliver their own
letters, chain mailmen to gates.
Sleeping dogs twitch, paddle upstream--
duel bangos, tubas, look for deliverance.
Copyright Karla Huston 1996
Note to Karla:
Please contact this website editor. We would like an up to date email address. Thanks so much!Return to Spondee.NET