The Wringer
A household demon gave me this scar—
the one finally fading from the fleshy side
of my right hand. I was, I am sure,
trying to help, feeding the damp garments
through the mangle. The wringer hummed,
water flowing to a tub below. The clothes
untangled, flattened like my small hand
one day long ago, pressed within its grip,
wringing out whatever pride I felt at five.
My fascination with this machine evaporating,
crushed between the rollers, and I wonder:
who was turning the crank?
*
Betsy Mars is a prize-winning poet, photographer, and assistant editor at Gyroscope Review. Her poetry has been published in numerous journals and anthologies. Recent poems can be found in Minyan, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Autumn Sky Poetry Daily. Her photos have appeared online and in print, including one which served as the Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge prompt in 2019. She has two books, Alinea, and her most recent, co-written with Alan Walowitz, In the Muddle of the Night. In addition, she also frequently collaborates with San Diego artist Judith Christensen, most recently on an installation entitled “Mapping Our Future Selves.”
Ouch. Memories return. Definitely a mentor poem for a different harm with which I’ve been struggling.
Thank you, Carol. That’s a real honor. I hope you find your way to contend with your harm in a way that brings you peace.
Wow, last lines, Betsy. This question keeps begging and begging…
Thank you, Jean. A mystery both in reality and metaphorically.
Great poem, Betsy! The cautionary tale children only the meaning of via the school of hard knocks. I had two memorable ones, both around age 5: (1) I played with a mousetrap in the kitchen and got my fingers smashed; and (2) I burned the back of my hand on a hot iron while backing away from something in the kitchen. That one left a scar that took decades to fade away.
Thank you, Jackie. I’ve alluded to another incident that occurred around that time in another poem…that one involving a toe meeting a fan. Childhood seems to be filled with risks!