mama cried

Posted by mama cried at 5:02am Mar 16 '10
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mama used to flinch and jump
whenever the phone would ring
she'd dash to the kitchen
to catch the call
nearly stripping the phone
from the apple green wall
and the cord would bounce
like a mattress spring
then mama would sigh
and she'd drop her head
daddy's coming home late
the voice usually said
"go straighten your rooms"
mama would snap with a snarl
without looking at
my sisters and me
"and keep it down up there
so i don't have to here you
go away and let me be"
soon after we could here
the ice clinking in her glass
then she would mumble
something to the tune of
'when he gets home imma beat his ass'
then one night after
the phone didn't ring
instead came a knock at the door
we listened from upstairs
to the bass of hushed tones
then a thump on the hardwood floor
then the screen door slammed
because the hinge was too tight
and the howl of a wounded women
ripped open the quiet night
before we could reach her
she was back on her feet
tearing pictures down off the wall
until her energy was spent
and her knuckles were bleeding
and she collapsed on the rug in the hall
soon after mama crawled to bed
she locked the door behind her
she took her glass and a whiskey bottle
the cheap rot-gut kind daddy preferred
we cleaned up her mess in silence
as mama wished we let her be
then i disconnected the telephone
and hurled it up into a pine tree
after, i curled up in daddy's big chair
with my sisters on either side
and we listened long into the morning
while mama drank and cried