Posted: April 19th, 2008 Track comments on this item via RSS
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to
find the ways in which you yourself have altered. – Nelson Mandela
Paper boats sail between marijuana flavoured apple trees
faceless boy paper routes
ride past GRAD ‘97 etched in beer filled mountains
Familiar blue truck outside Dairy Treat
preacher girl deals down tumbleweed main-street
must be 8pm already
We pluck cherries, bodies swelling with juice
bursting the snake skin with our teeth, sucking their flesh
sugary nectar fills our throats and dyes our chins magenta
Fumbling of hot naked bodies in a urine-stained bandshell
infants march out of slippery vaginas of girls like me
circular marchings to motherhood
Standing on Giants Head Mountain
pulled to plant my seed
pluck my husband, suck his flesh
Wedge myself into a Mary Jane apple tree,
legs spread wide
nearly dead by 8pm
Rarely do people grow up to be what they wanted at age four. So far I’m doing exactly that. When I was a little girl I had two goals: to become a ballerina and then a writer. I grew up on an apple orchard in Summerland, BC with my parents and four sisters. I started dancing at age four and trained in Kelowna, Toronto, Banff, Calgary and Vancouver. I danced professionally with Ballet Victoria and Norwegian Cruise Lines. Afterwards, I attended Camosun College where I rediscovered my passion for writing. I am currently working towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in Creative Writing with a minor in Journalism at the University of Victoria. Poetry and prose inspire me, especially writers like Ernest Hemingway, Alice Munro, Leonard Cohen and Sylvia Plath. My current dream is to find a career that blends what I love most: writing, music, art and dance.
Published April 2008
This entry is filed under Megan Gartrell, Poetry, Vol 1 Issue 2.
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April 27th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Hey lady! I’m sooo proud of u! This is great!
May 6th, 2008 at 5:44 am
Hi Megan,
I like “Summerland’s” unflinching gaze at small-town life, particularly the urine-stained bandshell and what goes on there.
Laurie