Poem – Uncooperative

Well, just when I thought my week couldn’t get any more interesting after my passing out experience…. it did. Tuesday brought dull red skies and heavy smoke that has stuck around until now and probably won’t be leaving any time soon. Fires have been ravaging the PNW, and while I am currently out of harm’s way, it has been a heavy week watching Oregon burn.

Anyways, today’s poem has nothing to do with fire, and I’m grateful for it. 😀 It’s loosely based on a story that my grandma tells about me when I was little. As a kid I was very spirited and stubborn (some would say I still am :D), and one time my grandma had a humorous interaction with me that culminated in me declaring that I had ‘an uncooperative attitude!’ – a pretty big phrase for a three year old! I took this story and twisted it up with some imagination and creative liberty – and this poem is the result.

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When my grandmother tells me that I have an uncooperative attitude,

I feel like the rebellious flutter of a flamenco dancer’s skirt,

a stifled laugh in the middle of prayer meeting,

a chorus of crossed-out words in an essay,

a window swelled with age, stuck in its frame,

a fire hydrant sprinkler for inner city kids,

trespassing feet in a moon-soaked garden,

January squall in daffodil March,

wind-wisped hair, waving at the sky,

the scald of too-hot tea, sweet and waiting.

~

Were you an cooperative child? Do any of these similes strike a chord with you? I’d love to hear about it in the comments! 🙂