Friday, November 03, 2006
Barbies at Communion
l.l. asked, so here it is. One of my few publication credits.
During communion meditation young men pass
shiny brass plates with saltless crackers
and shots of grape juice and the speaker
compares communion to German McDonald's:
an oasis of comfort in a foreign land?
"We share this meal.
Amen? We share
this meal. We share."
While I smile at his cadence,
my daughter undresses
Ariel Barbie, Tinker Bell Barbie,
and 12 inch generic sleeping beauty.
I don't know why Ariel's butt crack
makes me nervous, shining up at me
as I break a corner of cracker, Christ's
flesh passing over naked dolls
breasts without nipples
like an Eve before shame.
During communion meditation young men pass
shiny brass plates with saltless crackers
and shots of grape juice and the speaker
compares communion to German McDonald's:
an oasis of comfort in a foreign land?
"We share this meal.
Amen? We share
this meal. We share."
While I smile at his cadence,
my daughter undresses
Ariel Barbie, Tinker Bell Barbie,
and 12 inch generic sleeping beauty.
I don't know why Ariel's butt crack
makes me nervous, shining up at me
as I break a corner of cracker, Christ's
flesh passing over naked dolls
breasts without nipples
like an Eve before shame.
Comments:
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Thanks for posting, Mark! Love it. The innocence of childhood there at communion, yet you not feeling so innocent and Christ being okay with the whole scene... he did create these bodies after all. (And we recreated them in plastic imitation!)
I'll link here from my Barbie post comments section. (Hey, that works out since you've been looking for link love!)
I'll link here from my Barbie post comments section. (Hey, that works out since you've been looking for link love!)
Oh, heck, I just posted it as a regular entry, even though I've recently announced I'm only a once-a-day Tuesday/Thursday/Friday poster. Well, what are personal rules for anyway, if not to be broken for personal reasons? :)
I love this poem. Thank you for sharing it. Have you ever read Kathleen Norris's "Little Girls in Church"? It kind of reminded me of that poem.
Thanks for the post, l.l. Wow, I feel special. Almost like I've been published. (seriously, that was a nice gesture.)
christianne, I have never heard of Kathleen Norris or her book of poetry, but it looks like I'll need to order that one. I saw the my friends at Image Journal already know her!
christianne, I have never heard of Kathleen Norris or her book of poetry, but it looks like I'll need to order that one. I saw the my friends at Image Journal already know her!
Oh yeah -- Image loves Kathleen Norris. She's fantastic. She's probably most famous for her book The Cloister Walk, which became a New York Times bestseller about six or so years ago. Anyway, you should check her out! I highly recommend The Cloister Walk as the best place to start.
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