Donna Reis Verse-Virtual 2017 October

October 2017

I live in the Hudson Valley with my husband, musician and composer, Tom Miller. I'm happily retired from teaching Special Education, and spend my days doing what I love: writing, quilting and gardening. My debut poetry collection, No Passing Zone, was published in December, 2012 by Deerbrook Editions. Recently, my poems have appeared in OxMag, Evening Street Review and the e-zine, www.thefuriousgazelle.com. For more information please visit my website: www.donnareis.com.

How Do You Like Them Apples,

or Stick that in your pipe & smoke it,
were often tacked on or extra
punctuation.
Other mothers might ask,
When are you gonna wake-up,
& fly right, while mine said,
When are you gonna wake-up,
& DIE right?
To save me from vanity,
moments of satisfaction
were met with: Get off
your high horse, or Well, aren't you
just the bee's knees?
Compliments were doled out
only when hell froze over.
But mostly I let her locution
roll off my back,
because I had a brain
like a sieve & would have lost
my head if it wasn't screwed
on tight, while Mother dabbled
in idioms with artistry.
Her best tumbled off her tongue
whenever my father
or I made a suggestion,
Why don't I do heaps of shit wonders?!

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