Memento Vivere

(remember to live)

A little knowledge of the world

once thought 

to be a dangerous thing

spin the glitter ball

Hey look!

There’s a badger 

prowling the catwalk

black and white Mary Quant

such a cute 


Distraction 


keeping so many 

home spun plates in the air

at one time she would think nothing 


[of it]


too busy busy busy bee

to be unhappy

doing the dishes hanging the nappies

cleaning the bathroom 

where she hides


the pills keeping her doctored


Prescribed 

Proscribed 


Life


on the straight and narrow

that’s the trick isn’t it 

mindless tedium 

to tired to sit up and take notice

all the memento mori notes 

hacked into her brain


drain


training


by her mother’s father’s 

father’s mother’s smothering

all and any~originality 

no teenage rebellious behaviour 

keep your mouth and legs shut

keep your powder dry

not one nose shiny whine 

until Mr Right condescends 

to set you up cushty 


parallel parked


for life


in the suburbs 



I’m a good girl, I am
good girl good
I am


repeat repeat repeat~rewind



Dollys and prams 

doctors and nurses

Barbie and Ken

prom dresses 

date nights

secretarial courses

won’t need those when 

she’s 

Happily Married


Ha!


sweet sworn nothings 

gullible longing

bitter barbiturates 

and rosé relief 


anesthesia


middle aged grief


Then dare we 

whisper it’s name


Divorce and release


             ~~~~~

I was thinking on my stepmother’s life…she grew up in the 1940/50s

English, very middle class, correctly brought up by her parents to be ‘the perfect young lady’.

She fell for my father, very charming working class, cheating bastard, that he was.

And got saddled with someone else’s three ungrateful kids into the bargain, whilst still very young.

This obviously is modified fiction, but I think the sentiments voiced here certainly applied in that era, so very much then, went unseen and unspoken.

The so called ‘silent generation’ weren’t necessarily any nicer than subsequent ones.

Divorce was hard to come by, one couldn’t just file papers, not there, not then.

Divorce was seen very much as a failure, in particular on the part of the woman.

One was supposed to stay for the sake of the children.

After one black eye too many, thankfully she left and many years later, after the laws were relaxed, divorced him.

I know she found renewal, release and a good man to live out her life with.

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Photo by Vony Razom on Unsplash