poem: Christina Springer

 

The Women Think About Holidays
(for Henry White)

 

the men are important.  the men
must not be disturbed.  the men are thinking. the men
are talking.    the women are doing.  the women

have taken their wares to market. the women
have tended their fields well. the women teach
their children to flow. the women
have plates.  the women have folded napkins.  the women
have fifteen dishes in the oven or on standby.  the women‘s
houses are immaculate.  the women
are ready. the women

have done everything.  sometimes,
the women disturb the men.  sometimes,
tables are necessary for the feast.  sometimes,
the women think
it would be nice for everyone to sit.  sometimes,
the women think sitting with proper
illumination is good. the men think.  the men
think of solutions.  it is good.

the men and women drink.  the men
and women dance.  the children dance.  the children
become weary.  they sleep.
the men and women dance more.  sometimes,
it makes more children.  sometimes,
it is just joy.  sometimes,
it is just dancing.  after,

the women clean.  the women wash the pots.  the women
wash the dishes.  the women check
that the children are still sleeping.  the women
recycle the garlands.  the women fold
the chairs.  the women put away
the tables.  the women sigh

and have a drink.  the men and children are sleeping
CHRISTINA SPRINGER is a text artist whose fellowship in Cave Canem helped hone her many voices. She has been an Outreach Artist for The Tower Of London and Hampton Court Palace. She taught creative writing at CityLit College, London and The University Of East London. Poems have appeared in: ‘Gathering Ground: A Cave Canem Reader,’ ‘Saints Of Hysteria,’ ‘The Complete Idiots Guide To Slam Poetry CD,’ Torch Literary Journal, The Drunken Boat, Janus Head, Femspec, and Callaloo. Recent dance-theatre scripts include: ‘Living Ancestry’ and “Kikombe Cha Kisiri Mato” produced by Umoja African Arts Company and ‘The Splooge Factory’ produced by Composer’s Collaborative. Currently, she is experimenting on her home-educated son and his friends to develop a curriculum which transforms science into art. Yes, dear reader, you can use dry ice to make a spoon scream. http://christinaspringer.blogspot.com