Twenty Years Outdated

June 13, 2022 00:03:20
Twenty Years Outdated
Carrie Does Poems
Twenty Years Outdated

Jun 13 2022 | 00:03:20

/

Hosted By

Carrie Jones

Show Notes

These firefighters show up at a hotel fire, maybe Started in the laundry room during the off season, hoses Frozen from winter temperatures, ice across roads; The crumbling structure is about to fall, flames shooting out windows. In our small town, three-hundred people Are listening to the scanner because we can’t be there, But our family and friends battle, wearing air Compressors and safety equipment from 2002. Twenty years outdated. Other poets write about grief and hand holding, The ache of winter trees bending with wind, Charleston’s harbor, celebrations and tiny pains. I sit here, listening, ineffective, useless. I once fought fire. Nobody believes that Though I have photographic evidence. I even Used to dispatch emergency calls, take fists to the face, Witness hate and rage that never made the scanner. Twenty years outdated. The firefighters work so hard to save that building, But the roof collapses, only the foundation remains. The thing is that building has burnt before. Twice. They keep reconstructing it though, refusing to admit defeat, Vaguely rethinking the design. After a couple months Nobody even remembers what it was before. When I was little, I used to dance, even got paid For it. Nobody believes that either. Or that I reported sports Taught gymnastics, was even a church secretary. I don’t fit Any of those notions people have of who I should be. Twenty years outdated. Sometimes we rebuild only after everything has collapsed, After burning walls fall outward to the snowy ground. Sometimes There are witnesses. Sometimes there is only lonely horror as our structures crumble.

Hey, thanks for listening to Carrie Does Poems. These podcasts and more writing tips are at Carrie’s website, carriejonesbooks.blog. There’s also a donation button there. Even a dollar inspires a happy dance in Carrie, so thank you for your support.

The music you hear is made available through the creative commons and it’s a bit of a shortened track from the fantastic Eric Van der Westen and the track is called "A Feather" and off the album The Crown Lobster Trilogy.

While Carrie only posts poems weekly here, she has them (in written form) almost every other weekday over on Medium. You should check it out!

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/eric-van-der-westen/the-crown-lobster-trilogy-selection

Other Episodes

Episode 0

July 11, 2022 00:02:13
Episode Cover

Imprinted

Imprinted The tight curls on her lover’s neck? Lord studied them. Made litanies to survive. Whitman, of course, sang of electric bodies and armies...

Listen

Episode

January 08, 2024 00:00:30
Episode Cover

LET IT BE, for Marge Piercy

So, in 2024, I'm trying (goal here) to write a poem every workday and share one of these drafts every week. I'm not sure...

Listen

Episode 0

January 31, 2022 00:03:22
Episode Cover

Everything Makes Us Scared

Hi! This year (2022), I’ve decided to share a poem on my blog and podcast and read it aloud. It’s all a part of...

Listen