by Gregg Rowe
In Alberta, going North East on Highway 45,
the driver comes to a rural town called Two Hills.
Just a few short minutes backtracking on the same highway,
lies another village called Hairy Hill.
So what lies between Two Hills and Hairy Hill?
A belly button.
--an old joke between the townspeople of both villages
Two hills,
facing
in opposite directions
sex education disputed
causes friction.
Hutterite husbandry,
naively learnt
families closely knit
everyone somehow related.
Fear of inbred bloodlines,
some search for country farm-studs
on Saturday afternoons.
Pay the twenty dollars
for new bloodlines
for their daughters.
Realistic high school graduates
move to the great metropolitan
becoming beach bums.
Blue sea eyes
open widely like the ocean
as the population of tanned bodies
and skimpy bathing suits
entices.
Me, travelling thirty miles
to Wreck Beach, Vancouver:
bearing my birthday suit.
Returning to downtown to remain
out until two in the morning,
propositioned by prostitutes.
Walking along the seawall
the music of the waves
serenades young lovers.
Arriving at Beach Avenue
passing a parking lot,
where men talk to men.
Strolling through the park
strangers bare, interlocking
red as lobsters.
Metropolitan to metropolitan
as I moved to Montréal,
to dance until dawn.
Passing passionate evenings
only to discover
after my satisfaction
bright red lobsters are rarer here.
Flying down the whiteness
munching on Alice's homemade cookies
for more than a week.
Hopping from bed to bed:
enclosing myself in
counting four corners.
Thus I live.
With our obsession
to please ourselves
in savage behaviour,
fifteen to thirty minutes
before one body
becomes two.
Two hills,
slipping away,
facing --
in opposite directions.
Author notes
This is one of the very first poems I wrote at the age of 18 when I had questions about my sexuality. Being raised in a small Alberta rough-neck Catholic community wasn't healthy for this development, especially when I became an adult and ventured out into the vast world. It boggles my mind that farmers can talk about husbandry, but cannot teach their own offspring that an expression of sexuality (no matter what you are categorized under) is just as healthy as eating, sleeping and working.
Written May 15th, 2004
In a list
- Canadian Family Portraits • next in list
- Writings for My Mother • next in list
- The Honorables • next in list
A contest entry
- What's Cool about Country by cafegroundzero.
500 points, ended February 5, 2006, 9 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 12 of 12
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Round one, passed. Be back
Hmmm... not quite what i was asking for, but then again, sometimes you get what you need, and not what you thought you wanted, ha ha.
Let's keep the truth coming out, eh?
On my second round of reading, I use this:
Authenticity (Believability or realism) 1 to 20 pts, 19
Theme Clarity (relevance to contest) 1 to 20 pts, 8
Complexity (Work, plan and style) 1 to 20 pts, 16
Transcendence (Artistic conclusion) 1 to 20 pts, 18
Expressiveness (Some say artfully said) 1 to 20 pts, 15
Audio/Oral (Listening as it's read, allit, asson.) 1 to 20 pts,10
Also, I'm rethinking how i feel about this poem, and how it can be interpreted. Re-reading this the second time (hence, my third time reading it) i'm reminded about what I've heard about Broke- back Mountain. Na, i'm not about to go see it at the cinema; i'll wait till it comes out on video, lol. Yes, i live in an extremely HOMOPHOBE and REDNECK town, ha ha. But i love my town and county, with all it's imperfections.
So summing up your points, we get 82. Double check: 86? Let me do it on paper, jeez. I must be tired. Okay, 86. Now, one more thing. In the contest, we asked for: " All stereotypes aside, I'd like those of you who know anything about country living to reach deep inside yourselves for some country pride, and write about what's good about living in a rural setting, being a farmer, rancher, agricultural worker, hunter, fisher, or whatever might be associated with being hick." It's not clear to me that you are either proud of being from Two Hills, or if you do, that you think all that behaviour is desirable. I'm inclined to think you do have a weird sense of pride in all that, and that you are enjoying what seems to be promiscuity or witnessing it. Then again, you may just be into "truth in reporting," and that's not a bad thing. But for the purposes of this contest, I'm going to have to defer to those who were less cynical, if that's what this is.
Edited on Feb 05, 10:19 p.m. because 'Finishing fourth and final round of judging.'. -
That you wrote this when you were 18 years old Gregg is awesome! little wonder that you turned into the mature, prolific, experienced, wonderful writer that you are! I have to agree with you when you say:
It boggles my mind that farmers can talk about husbandry, but cannot teach their own offspring that an expression of sexuality (no matter what you are categorized under) is just as healthy as eating, sleeping and working.
That you have come into your own Gregg is a tribute and a credit to the man that you are inside, I applaud you my dear friend, I also think it is wonderful that you compile your writings for your parents in the way that you have... Bless you and megga hugs for a very, very special man.
~Katie~
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Christa: I am putting together a collection of my favorite poems into a chapbook for my mother and I am thinking of including this one in it since it part of our past. Gregg
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*thumbs up*
*presses toes together* Why is this in poetry for your mother? 'Twas good though... -
~Dragonfly~ You have been to Two Hills, please IM me and let me know who these friends are of yours so I know if they are my relatives or not.
Wow! Small world, someone has been to a remote little town in the middle of Alberta that I could hardly wait to get out of. Gregg Happy Holidays *santa
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Funny as it is, I've actually been to Two Hills, and I've got a few friends there. It's a nice little place. This is an amazing piece of work... Best of luck in the contest.
Dragonfly -
yeah, this was..interesting. The picture slightly disturbed me, along with the rest but yeah..moving on. You forgot to put the comment in your author's box. Might wanna fix that before Graci sees it, eh?
~Frankee -
I would say "coming of age", but there is no way this poem deserves such a generic phrase to be coupled too. This was amazing, the hill imageries are stunning, and I love the way it started with the joke and turned into a more serious tone. Wonderful, really. Such tender, hesitant images. Damn good. Thanks for entering!
~Hannah~ -
Yeah, I started writing erotica before i knew that masturbation would NOT cause me to go blind. And I still don't have hairy hands!
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You wrote this when you were eighteen~Whoa!
Great imagery and gave me a glimpse into your mindset at the time~
Ok~Where are the pictures...LOL
Another awesome piece Gregg
Best wishes to you my dear~
and much love~Desire
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This started out with a bit of humor to it, then it took a serious turn. Your notes are true, it is easier for some to tale fout breeding and such as long as its not their own children. It's still a taboo subject in todays times in some parts of the world just as arranged marriages and in line breeding. While some see it as natural, others see it as wrong. Thank goodness you got a grip on your life. Your story was great. god bless you
Rose
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busy questioning write!!
really enjoyed this walk down your memory lane, being one of your first poems with the community life that you were living in very intersting reading it, its full of all that you describled
~~Pauline
Edited on May 15, 8:36 because 'for your....'.
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