Perhaps
Grandma taught me
To snap the string beans
For anxiety relief
Maybe she
Knew more
Than I gave her credit for
Because here I sit
Forty years later
In the middle of it
With a bowl of
Tense green beans
And a pile of little endings
I need to throw away
On a hot summer day
In the middle of july
I split my fears
And eat my tension
Every seven times
-And I see grandma's hands
Showing mine
Breaking off
The split ends of life
One bean at a time
Author notes
Written August 6th, 2005
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I always try to put a whole life into as few words as possible. I have read people here on this site that seems to just have a natural knack. I add you to those, I hope you got through the bowl, binned the leftovers, rinsed it and packed it into a dark cupboard which you then locked.
Now write me a poem about what you did with the key!
please
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snap
i picked wax and green beans today and stir fried them with some other things. and, i thought of my mom doing this same act when i was a kid. not stir frying, the snapping of beans. the sound they made, her hands, the conversations we would have while she worked at things like this. it was her meditation after a busy day and now i guess it is my meditation too. thanks for taking me back.
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My grandma would always tape up the end of her thumb before using a knife to prepare vegetables. I did the last beans and almost broke into tears at how slowly the sink emptied of the beans and how small the pot full was. They didn't taste too good either. I think they stayed in the fridge too long. I don't understand "every seven times..."
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Brilliant Wendy. The mistress of metaphor. This is steeped in layers of emotion. The depth is incredible.
~ Sonia ~ X -
aww this is so sweet. memories of your grandmother, and the things she taught you. this poem was wonderful. good flow, direct (but none the less good) imagry. keep it up! i liked this very much *memories of grandma* hmmm. thanks for the trip to memory lane!
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i could really conect. very emotional and deep! keep up the awesome work Manicmuze!!
jus out of curiousity, is this based on a tru experience?
later days, bottomrailontop -
xcellent
wonderful piece of work.... i loved my grandma n so it wz a shock wen she passed away. ths poem brought back her image...... lovely poem.
keep writing,
sush -
I couldn't have stated it better, but I truly feel it just the same. Strange how the beans always taste so much better when you take part in the cleaning and snappin'. Suppose it has something to do with pride and such or perhaps memories of Grandma.
Blessings and hugs ~Marcy -
HaHa..thats sweet..i like your poem it really good.
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i like the history of individual lives
especially if one can paint it well
and lock it into the framework of all
great job
pickin them thar little ends off
to create a whole -
wendy,
i love the metaphores you've poured into this piece.
some people do seem to find release in the kitchen (and i am definately not one of them.. all i find is the mess i make)
but this did bring back memories of doing just this all through childhood, at the time cursing our massive garden, now happy to remember it.
very polished piece.
l-. -
i love your work .... :: sigh ::: i have so much to learn .... this was fabulous .. it took me to so many levels and sparkling imagery; deep emotion (for me) .... >>> EM
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grand ma was once a young woman, fell in love, had children
of course she knew -
wonderful
I love this one, it's totallly complete, love the ending:
-And I see grandma's hands
Showing mine
Breaking off
The split ends of life
One bean at a time
wonderful
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made me go awwww
It is strange at the things we remember, I always watched my grandmaw cooking, but I never saw her eat at the dinner table. She taste tested along the way. Thirteen children and a gazillion grandchildren...no wonder...simply love this
Peace Muddy -
This is a wonderful poem! I absolutely adore it, Grandmother's are wonderful people. How else are we supposed to learn the ins and outs of life? Very sweet, and very touching. It makes me want to write something about my grandmother!
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awww!! Such a lovely poem! I enjoyed is so, so very much! I Love it!! Even though it wasn't meant to be sad...it almost made me cry. When you said:
-And I see grandma's hands
Showing mine
Breaking off
The split ends of life
One bean at a time
*how you see your grandmothers hands. Thats lovely! Your grandmother seems so sweet. I got so many images in my head! This is wonderful! I Loved It!
hehe! Nice job and keep up this WONDERFUL God-Given talent! You know how to write poems! Keep it up. Much Love and God Bless
♥steph♥
Edited on Aug 06, 1:21 p.m. because 'hearts'. -
I love this poem, it reminds me of how my Grandmother showed me the same things with her practiced patience. Wonderful!
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Love the feel of this...the imagery and wording is brilliant, also. Very well written, I do think.
Bestest wishes and all that other mushy, gushy stuff
~Meli~
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I'm loving the imagery. Great concepts and good ol' granny. Sometimes wisdom does come with age. Wonderful write.
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This is very nice! The admiration and gratefulness towards your grandmother and the comforting work of snapping beans... I can sense it. I think that's a great way to relieve tension. I use my poetry to relieve tension...or if it's REALLY bad, I bowl. I mean I torture that poor bowling ball...and those poor...poor pins. Teehee. I loved this. Keep it up.
Love, Kittii -
Ah! Very clever....snapping tension along with the beans...and every seventh time (how very mystical and folklorish -- like those little touches).
The only reason I ever snapped beans was because if I didn't....I'd have gotten into trouble (and that would have been tension enough)...I can picture a large tub of them sitting there.....during canning season when I was a child.
Very magical. White-magic tradition of a sort. -
Excellent
Absolutely wonderful images! I remember and still do the snapping of green beans and shucking peas...I just have one thing that I hated...your use of the word "cuz" please use the correct wording especially in a fabulous poem like this.
I also would use line spacing if you aren't going to use punctuation, let ther reader know when and where to take a breath or pause.
~Dee -
:)
I LIKE YOUR POEM VERY MUCH. I WISH I HAD SUM 1 TO TEACH ME SOME THING USEFUL -
interesting poem, your grandma sounds lovely.lol
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