Three Monkeys
In the den of mother’s home
three monkeys
hands over eyes, ears, mouth
squat next to The Kinsey Report
one book over from The Tropic of Cancer
God’s Little Acre, Peyton Place, Valley of the Dolls
sandwich assorted dime-store murder mysteries
Prominently placed on the end
Emily Post’s Book of Etiquette
rests on a stack of Playboy magazines
Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories
a free gift with our set of encyclopedias
leans over the dog-eared copy
of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care
Mother, years later, rebuked Dr. Spock
for having the audacity to speak against
our American way, The Vietnam war
She was sure he was the harbinger
for a whole spoilt generation
raised and coddled on his advice
In the den of present prospect shelves line walls
littered with books I have chosen:
The Essential Rumi, Wonderful World of Beading,
Poems for the New Millennium, Through the Lens
and Oxford literary Quotations lay next to Poet’s & Writers
on the left three monkeys newly purchased
seemingly inert primates of alchemy
rest atop the computer screen
I think back now when my voice was silent
under clatter raised to frenzied pitch
and the books spoke for someone else
previously published 2006 in No Time to Shoot the Poets
Small Poetry Press Cynthia L Bryant
And 1/18/2007 www.othervoices poetry.org/vol24
Cookies for the Children of Haiti
On any given day
kids of every age are seen sitting
legs crossed squatting
nibbling this much sought-after staple
in the La Saline slum
Women up early
cross an open sewer
to buy dirt
$5 to make a hundred cookies
Climb rope ladders carrying buckets
up to the abandoned prison roof
sift out stones and twigs
infuse dirt with water
on occasion add some sugar, salt and butter
fill over-sized clay pots
thoroughly mixing with hands
some while nursing
Scoop out a handful at a time
arrange into cookies on the ground
left to dry in the sunshine
Sell to others waiting
offer hopes of rich minerals held in the earth
a way to slow the rumble of empty dreams
previously published 2017 FOLKS-Versions of Us
Cynthia L Bryant
Lock Her Up
Somewhere
to a nonplussed audience
of her parents
a molested daughter
blurts out the secret
about her lately pouting tummy
how it came to pass
Somewhere
a mother screams
unintelligible sounds rise
to blot out offending words
that present too hard a choice
Calls the police
on her canary-yellow kitchen phone
Somewhere
the fury of a father
shocks high-color to face
as he pummels daughter
in attempts to exorcise
the madness
that threatens exposure
Somewhere
nosey neighbors open front doors
stand in groups in their yards
make up minds by committee
about what sort of folks
and who’s at fault
when laundry is aired
Somewhere
small town police arrive
lights flashing
as parents point to daughter
an undone puzzle on the floor
police gather the pieces
pile her into the back of a squad car
Somewhere
an unheard daughter
serving one-month solitary in Juvenile Hall
revisits over and over
the last few moments at home
outnumbered
incorrigible
previously published 2017 FOLKS-Versions of Us
Cynthia Bryant claims poetry saved her life; that not only was poetry a safe way to transcend the terror and rage arising from childhood abuse, but also a tool to share and educate other survivors. First published in 1997 by two important journals dealing with childhood sexual abuse, Cynthia Bryant has since been published in over 50 anthologies. She has shared her poetry in venues as diverse as a federal prison, women’s shelters, a continuation high school and neon sign shop in addition to coffee shops, libraries and book stores.
Cynthia was the Poetry Coordinator for the Alameda County Fair in 2004 and 2005. She served as the Poet Laureate of Pleasanton, Ca from 2005 to 2007, and again from 2011 to 2013. During her tenure she was a passionate advocate for the literary arts, bringing diverse voices to share their work in the community. Today Cynthia resides in Monterey with her husband Allen and her two Boston Terriers, Gracie Mae and Oscar Wilde.
In the den of mother’s home
three monkeys
hands over eyes, ears, mouth
squat next to The Kinsey Report
one book over from The Tropic of Cancer
God’s Little Acre, Peyton Place, Valley of the Dolls
sandwich assorted dime-store murder mysteries
Prominently placed on the end
Emily Post’s Book of Etiquette
rests on a stack of Playboy magazines
Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories
a free gift with our set of encyclopedias
leans over the dog-eared copy
of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care
Mother, years later, rebuked Dr. Spock
for having the audacity to speak against
our American way, The Vietnam war
She was sure he was the harbinger
for a whole spoilt generation
raised and coddled on his advice
In the den of present prospect shelves line walls
littered with books I have chosen:
The Essential Rumi, Wonderful World of Beading,
Poems for the New Millennium, Through the Lens
and Oxford literary Quotations lay next to Poet’s & Writers
on the left three monkeys newly purchased
seemingly inert primates of alchemy
rest atop the computer screen
I think back now when my voice was silent
under clatter raised to frenzied pitch
and the books spoke for someone else
previously published 2006 in No Time to Shoot the Poets
Small Poetry Press Cynthia L Bryant
And 1/18/2007 www.othervoices poetry.org/vol24
Cookies for the Children of Haiti
On any given day
kids of every age are seen sitting
legs crossed squatting
nibbling this much sought-after staple
in the La Saline slum
Women up early
cross an open sewer
to buy dirt
$5 to make a hundred cookies
Climb rope ladders carrying buckets
up to the abandoned prison roof
sift out stones and twigs
infuse dirt with water
on occasion add some sugar, salt and butter
fill over-sized clay pots
thoroughly mixing with hands
some while nursing
Scoop out a handful at a time
arrange into cookies on the ground
left to dry in the sunshine
Sell to others waiting
offer hopes of rich minerals held in the earth
a way to slow the rumble of empty dreams
previously published 2017 FOLKS-Versions of Us
Cynthia L Bryant
Lock Her Up
Somewhere
to a nonplussed audience
of her parents
a molested daughter
blurts out the secret
about her lately pouting tummy
how it came to pass
Somewhere
a mother screams
unintelligible sounds rise
to blot out offending words
that present too hard a choice
Calls the police
on her canary-yellow kitchen phone
Somewhere
the fury of a father
shocks high-color to face
as he pummels daughter
in attempts to exorcise
the madness
that threatens exposure
Somewhere
nosey neighbors open front doors
stand in groups in their yards
make up minds by committee
about what sort of folks
and who’s at fault
when laundry is aired
Somewhere
small town police arrive
lights flashing
as parents point to daughter
an undone puzzle on the floor
police gather the pieces
pile her into the back of a squad car
Somewhere
an unheard daughter
serving one-month solitary in Juvenile Hall
revisits over and over
the last few moments at home
outnumbered
incorrigible
previously published 2017 FOLKS-Versions of Us
Cynthia Bryant claims poetry saved her life; that not only was poetry a safe way to transcend the terror and rage arising from childhood abuse, but also a tool to share and educate other survivors. First published in 1997 by two important journals dealing with childhood sexual abuse, Cynthia Bryant has since been published in over 50 anthologies. She has shared her poetry in venues as diverse as a federal prison, women’s shelters, a continuation high school and neon sign shop in addition to coffee shops, libraries and book stores.
Cynthia was the Poetry Coordinator for the Alameda County Fair in 2004 and 2005. She served as the Poet Laureate of Pleasanton, Ca from 2005 to 2007, and again from 2011 to 2013. During her tenure she was a passionate advocate for the literary arts, bringing diverse voices to share their work in the community. Today Cynthia resides in Monterey with her husband Allen and her two Boston Terriers, Gracie Mae and Oscar Wilde.