They Make ’em That Small
Mother always said there’d be days like this in my Junk Drawer Song.
I say a little prayer for you.
What to wear.
Success is a dream not a destination.
My make-up, my candles, my batteries, my comb.
My tiny doll with plaits, her hat and her apron.
Break ups – and a tiny heart-shaped photo stand –
Believe me. A roll of fuse wire for repairs.
I’m still in love with you.
A beaded crystal to hang at my window.
No other, this is my prayer
Along with a prism. My beaded crystal hung –
Run for the bus.
Mother always said there’d be days like this.
Darling believe me, turn up a tiny vase.
And yeah; this dinky remote for the air fan.
(They make ’em that small?) In my Junk Drawer Song.
Now we can chill Together.
I just take my time.
We will never part –
my junk drawer and I.
Run for the bus.
Benita H. Kape (c) 10.4.2021
Song – I chose “I’ll Say a Little Prayer For You”, an Aretha Franklin favourite. Endless things in my junk drawer, (mostly tiny things), including several fridge magnets. Note in my poem all words from the song are in Italics. All the things I found in my drawer were surprisingly small.
Notes:
Finally, here’s our daily prompt (optional, of course!). It’s called “Junk Drawer Song,” and comes to us from the poet Hoa Nguyen.
First, find a song with which you are familiar – it could be a favorite song of yours, or one that just evokes memories of your past. Listen to the song and take notes as you do, without overthinking it or worrying about your notes making sense.
Next, rifle through the objects in your junk drawer – or wherever you keep loose odds and ends that don’t have a place otherwise. (Mine contains picture-hanging wire, stamps, rubber bands, and two unfinished wooden spoons I started whittling four years ago after taking a spoon-making class). On a separate page from your song-notes page, write about the objects in the drawer, for as long as you care to.
Now, bring your two pages of notes together and write a poem that weaves together your ideas and observations from both pages.
benitakape 