FALLING OFF THE ROOF

This red river connecting me
to my sisters
I first learned of
with the death of my parakeet
Blue Boy
buried in Kotex
when I had no idea
what it was for
only that the gorgeous, cotton lined soft fluffy coffin
I’d created for my passed away pet
generated guilty giggles
and blushes
from my Grandmother and Godmother
Rose
as they gin rummied with the gents
“Oh, are you going to use that?!” Grandma
said in half-disgust/half-dismay.
“Look at the beautiful coffin it makes!”
I exclaimed in self-defense
Not knowing the real use of the stuff
I’d cleverly unearthed from it’s burial in
the bathroom closet.
Blue Boy was entombed in the symbol
of the red river
that connects me
with my sisters.
The red river that causes my own sister
great discomfort as she exclaims
“I’ve got my period and I feel terrible today!”
to all that will hear at home.
My own discomfort hidden
by the Irish Catholic Grandmother
who raised me
“Ladies never complain”
“What are you going to do? That’s just the way things are!”
“Shhh! Never say you have your period. Say “I fell off the roof today!”
Sing a song of red rivers
washing the cloths that sopped a woman’s monthlies.
The mysteries of womanhood
never fully explained to me
until Health Class in High School Junior Year.
This red river is life
struggling to be born
kicking me in the womb
my babies
spun turned danced
I raise my hands to the sky
bury my feet in the earth
as
My sons stand up
while I
Creator
Generator
Mother
Having fallen off the roof, I aim closer to the ground.

Cathleen Schandelmeier Tuesday, March 02, 2004