My Cart 
Login 

Previous

Catching Her Dance
by
Donna Hilbert


Next
 

Mom looks straight at me
through too-big glasses,
hands a blur like birds in flight.
She's Chattanooga Choo-Choo-ing
throughout the house to get me 
off her back, prove she can still move,
if she feels like moving.
 
I grew up watching her dance
across the slick linoleum
of our kitchen floor
to In the Mood and other tunes
from her teens and World War II.
 
I try to catch her dance
on video, but my phone is new
and I don't know much about
the camera. What I am left with
is this awkward still shot,
snapped the moment she orders
put down that cell phone, Junie,
and watch me dance!

From Gravity: New & Selected Poems (Tebot Bach, 2018).
Used here with permission.

 



 

 

Donna Hilbert writes and teaches private workshops from her home in Long Beach, California. A monthly contributor to the online poetry journal Verse-Virtual, her work is widely published in multiple languages and she is featured in the documentary, “Grief Becomes Me: A Love Story.” Donna's most recent collection is Gravity: New & Selected Poems, from Tebot Bach, and she has several poems in The Widow’s Handbook (Kent State University Press). Learn more about her at www.donnahilbert.com.

 


Post New Comment:
Jeri Thompson:
I really picture a mother trying to prove she is not as old as you or she thinks? Anyway good for her for moving!
Posted 12/14/2019 01:35 AM
Lori Levy:
Great portrayal of the mother in this poem!
Posted 05/11/2019 10:46 PM
barbsteff:
Mom's advice is spot on!
Posted 05/11/2019 02:45 PM
michael escoubas:
I'm not one for clich�s, Donna, but all of this suggests that the "more things change, the more they stay the same!" Thank you for adding a cup of joy to begin my day.
Posted 05/11/2019 07:50 AM


Contents of this web site and all original text and images therein are copyright © by Your Daily Poem. All rights reserved.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Purchasing books through any poet's Amazon links helps to support Your Daily Poem.
The material on this site may not be copied, reproduced, downloaded, distributed, transmitted, stored, altered, adapted,
or otherwise used in any way without the express written permission of the owner.