January 25, 2017 11:58 am
1953
When I was only 10
My world was just a little space
My news was measured
by events mundane
yet looming large
Upon the canvas of my life
Not yet in focus
First bra
First period
Third sister born
Dishes to wash
Clothes to iron
Floors to vacuum
Free of charge
The world crept in
A constant threat
Somewhat removed
Yet never dead
Beware lip paint!
Hide those boobs!
Watch out for men!
It never ends
At home as well as overseas
The world to come
arrived in headlines
One by one
Score one for Jonas Salk polio vaccine!
Score one for I like Ike and Mamie
and Queen Elizabeth II!
Score one for 200 North Korean POWs
freed from Koje Island!
Score none for stern McCarthyism
or truth or trust or justice
Goodbye Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
Goodbye Stalin; Hello Khrushchev
Goodbye US monopoly
On the hydrogen bomb
But all is not yet lost!
Score one for urban flight
trickling first from NYC
Best booming business opportunity
They’ll all need houses,
cars, garages and don’t forget TVs!
Score one for schools and ad campaigns
For stars of stage and movie screens
Competing for our $Loyalty
You pay
We take
And you will see
how much more joyful
Life can be!
Trust me!
Would I lie?
We’re going to be great again!
No, make that the greatest!
All hail the mighty dollar!
All seen, alas, in retrospect….
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 25 January 2017
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Ten
Posted by Elouise
Categories: Haiku/Poetry, Writing
Tags: 1953, Business Opportunities, Daily Prompt, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Hydrogen Bomb, I like Ike and Mamie, McCarthyism, Memories, Polio Vaccine, Stalin and Khrushchev, Ten, Urban Flight, When I was only 10
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I absolutely loved this! Excellent post!
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By Regina Bartlett on January 25, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Thank you, Regina! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It was kinda fun to write, too! 🙂
Elouise
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By Elouise on January 25, 2017 at 12:03 pm
Amazing to think of all the time that has passed, and how precipitous events produced monumental changes we now consider “normal”, isn’t it? I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed and almost hopeless…yet….nothing is impossible with God…and friends like you who pray and vent through poetry. Love to you and David.
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By Nancy Hartsock on January 25, 2017 at 12:22 pm
Yes, it is amazing. An eye-opener, actually, to step back and take a long view. The best things happened unexpectedly, and the awful things will always keep happening given human greed. Which gives me hope that good things will yet come in the midst of the awful awful. I pray each of us will be part of the good from time to time. 🙂
Elouise
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By Elouise on January 25, 2017 at 2:00 pm
Oh my God….you started from one point….and covered the entire world….great…!
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By Fortunately Human on January 25, 2017 at 12:39 pm
Thanks for your comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Elouise
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By Elouise on January 25, 2017 at 2:01 pm
Lovely. 🙂 Well considered.
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By Fran Macilvey on January 25, 2017 at 1:17 pm
Thank you, Fran. 🙂
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By Elouise on January 25, 2017 at 2:01 pm
an amazing trip through the years in just a few very heavy sentences….I just saw that Mary Tyler Moore is on deaths door, all I keep thinking of is her gorgeous smile and how just just looked so light and carefree, more losses, sigh, but tis the life we lead, and I couldn’t wear makeup either (till I walked to school and put it on out of view of the house-see I can be a rebel ❤ ) Nicely done E, nicely done ❤
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By InfiniteZip on January 25, 2017 at 2:16 pm
You, a rebel???? I never would have thought it possible…:) I loved watching the Mary Tyler Moore show. Smart, sassy, in charge if somewhat goofy. Never to be underestimated. Yes, it seems we’re living through a very concentrated period of high-profile deaths right now. Glad you enjoyed the trip.
Elouise
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By Elouise on January 25, 2017 at 2:49 pm
Great post Elouise, I like the optimism, and hope that is not betrayed; although I sense you feel about to be.
Greatness when once lost is lost forever, (to paraphrase Jane Austen’s Mr Darcy).and cannot be reclaimed!
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By LordBeariOfBow on January 25, 2017 at 6:48 pm
Thank you kindly. You’re correct about betrayal. We don’t do a very good job remembering our past. The patterns now in motion both social and governmental aren’t promising. I’m not giving up hope, and yes, there comes a time when greatness moves elsewhere and can’t be reclaimed, no matter how much we hope for it or talk as though we still had it.
Elouise
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By Elouise on January 25, 2017 at 8:01 pm
[…] 177. 10 – Emotional Spaces 178. Observations of The Urban Spaceman – Original Sin v2.0 179. Telling the Truth – When I was only 10 180. #cyw/daily post – Lorraine’s frilly freudian slip 181. A Ten from Len – Facts and […]
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