I’ve always loved the First Mover speech from Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale. So here is a little lyric I wrote inspired by that concept and my son’s experience moving from San Antonio to Kerrville when he was just a year old. (We actually moved on his birthday!)
Underneath the text of the poem, I’m embedding a little podcast if you want to hear me read it. (I feel strongly that poetry should be experienced out loud.)Â
You know you want to read this poem.
First Mover
A one year old can’t understand moving
trucks, hand trucks, or dollies—
except the kind his sister undresses and dances
down the hallway past mattresses propped up
to make A-frame caves. His uncles load up
his dresser and bookshelf and carry the toy chest
still full, one on each side, jostling the contents
enough to make the toys sing lullabies
to soothe themselves against the dark
future of spending forever in this box.
He sits on his mama’s hip and hears
his muffled stuff as they carry it away
to suffer its sentence of 3 days
in the truck. But on the third day
in the new town, on the drive of the new house
Dad’ll roll the door away, assess the shifting
and call the boxes back out. Batteries
may bring voice to toys again, though
life must cry expectedly weak.
“Oh do you know the moving van,
the moving van, the moving van,
who moved my life away?â€
If you are really really bored, you can subscribe to my very unofficial and sporadic podcast at GoodWordEditing on Gabcast!
Add New Comment
Viewing 6 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Add New Comment
Trackbacks