Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Who am I to Deny a Skeleton a Little Fun?


Who am I to Deny a Skeleton a Little Fun?

My closet successfully stays orderly
for weeks (sometimes months) on end, shoes neatly arranged,
sweaters seasonally separated from t-shirts -

enjoy running my hands over and through
carefully arranged pants, scarves, purses
until, inevitably, the restraints burst

and the skeleton in my closet breaks into his best Fred Astaire,
aping about to the tune of my Mother's "tales"
exposing my teenage vice; she a stay at home mom
fixated (or so I thought) on unimportant matters.

Came home from school one day,
backyard bonfire burning brightly -
Mother humming at kitchen sink.  Gasped
when an immaculate room greeted me.

As a mother now, I smile.  Imagine the glee
I'd feel doing the same, warn my teenage girls
of the possibility.  But then again, if I'm not careful,
they may one day return the favor

and then my skeleton
wouldn't have the fun of tap-dancing
every now and then.

A sign of a sick mind ;)  (My husband's side the closet)
You didn't think you'd get a look at my side, did you?

by Margaret Bednar, December 5, 2017

This bit of confession is linked with "The Imaginary Garden of Real Toads - Camera Flash"  and to "The Imaginary Garden of Real Toads - The Tuesday Platform".  

9 comments:

Sanaa Rizvi said...

I enjoyed this!💞 Often it is that we take pride in remembering how we used to be as teenagers and associate those habits and memories to those of the present. Beautifully penned.💞

Carrie Van Horn said...

Love this Margaret!!

tonispencer said...

Simply wonderful!

purplepeninportland.com said...

Love this, Margaret! Likes exactly the opposite from my husband's clothing.

Ornery Owl of Naughty Netherworld Press and Readers Roost said...

A neat story. I fear my skeleton is well buried under the clutter.

Kerry O'Connor said...

I once took a large bin bag into my daughter's room and put everything that was lying on the floor, toys, clothes, school books, into it while she wailed. Then I delivered a sermon about tidying up. It did not help one bit. I am still tidying up her stuff even though she doesn't live here for most of the year. I guess we neat freaks are the anomaly.

Jim said...

Thank goodness for the moms. I always left my cloths l in a pile on the bathroom floor. In the morning they'd be hanging up, fresh ones in my closet.
o.s. Skeletons weren't my life until I had kids to appreciate them for Halloween.

kaykuala said...

Neatness certainly takes lots of efforts but more so the ability of 'good arrangement' sense. It does not come naturally but one must be trained for it! That is true, Marge!

Hank

Yvonne Osborne said...

Your posts are always enjoyable.