Plymouth Magazine-Summer24-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 10
At the North Bend Farmers Market in Late July
Through Many Windows
By Karen Downing
By Anthony Voss
The girls are what I notice
not the first haul of corn spilling from the back of a pick up
not the beachball watermelons flattening the dry grass
not the farmers who toiled in the fields
but their daughters in their track shorts and Adidas slides
hair still damp from the city swimming pool
the scent of chlorine layered with Bath and BodyWorks
“Enchanted Candy Potion” lotion
“Through Many Windows” was a collection of works written
by participants in a Writing Across the Curriculum conducted
in Marshalltown during the summer of 1983. The project was
dedicated to the increased use of writing in all subject areas
through teacher professional development. The following two
works were my written by me.
That trance of youth
like staring into the wavy heat lines on
I-80 as I drive to work and back
work and back
arriving in my driveway
without knowing how I made it home
My defenses can be set
To keep you from hurting me
To keep me from hurting you
The girls stretch their legs out long
resigned to sit in camping chairs
and wait this out
propped next to baskets of zucchini and onions,
the girls sell home-made earrings made in 4-H
$10 a pair
gas money so they can drive out and away
from the flatness of the land
the sight of their mothers disappearing in the rear view mirror
down dusty country roads
singing as if their lives depended on it
even if no one hears
My mind can be closed
To shut you out
To keep me within
The girls are dirt under nails and glitter on skin
ripe as blushing tomatoes on the folding card table
the girls are sleeker than cucumbers and brighter than carrots
they eat monkey bread from tin foil loaf pans
that spark in the sunshine
licking the sticky goodness off their hands
The girls can not contain their magic
in screw-top jam jars jeweled in the afternoon light
their spell holds my gaze as I offer any money I can find
to buy what they have
in the afternoon sunlight, I am a shadowy form they can barely see
their eyes squinting as they look ahead
to make out what is in front of them.
10
I Am A Widow
My mind can be opened
To allow you in
To let me escape
My shape can be altered
To be appealing to you
To be acceptable to me
My mood can be adjusted
To react to where you are
coming from
To indicate where I have been
My personality can vary
To show you what I am
To remind me what I am not
My heart can be broken
To erase the thought of you
To sketch a new beginning
for me
My view can be tinted
To help you tolerate me
To help me understand you
Farewell...
It was just here
Now it is gone
So much has happened
Yet so little has changed
So many people have passed
Too quickly to know where they have gone
Accomplishments seemed almost endless
But there is so little to show for it
There was so much more to be done
And never enough time to do it
Another summer gone
About the Author
About the Author
Karen Downing taught English at Valley
High School for 34 years. She now works
with CultureALL as the Special Project
Coordinator for Open Book. She’s been a
member of Plymouth for 55 years.
Anthony “Tony” Voss is a retired educator.
He served students for 42 years. Plymouth
member since 2006.
