"Two wrongs may not make a right but a thousand wrongs make a writer.”

Sunday, February 24, 2013

A Bad Girl

Venus de Milo with Drawers, 1936, Salvador Dali


At the age of twelve
I was instructed to wash my hands
when I got up in case
I'd touched myself in my sleep.

Curious at what I should be doing
but wasn't doing
I touched myself
here, here, and here.

Nobody else knows what they did
with my arms
but I can't touch myself
anymore.



The writing prompt comes to us from Magpie Tales,


A blog dedicated to writers and poets for the purpose of honing their craft. I hope you enjoyed my Magpie Tale. The Venus de Milo has always mystified me.

34 comments:

anthonynorth said...

That was hilarious. Nice one :-)

Berowne said...

Sly and smart. Enjoyable...

Yvonne Osborne said...

Anthony,
Thanks.

Berowne,
Thank you.

Laurie Kolp said...

Amazing!

Gerry@StrummedWords said...

Reminds me of what a grandmother might tell a child! Amusing!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Laurie,
Thank you!!

Gerry,
Exactly. Thanks.

kaykuala said...

Chuckles! Growing up is fun, but they are not telling!

Hank

izzy said...

Oh this is something- what a take!

martine said...

strangely I found it rather sinister.
thanks for sharing

Frances Garrood said...

Love it!

Helen said...

Your poem is great ... on so many levels!

Unknown said...

Very thought provoking!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That was clever!

Heidi said...

I thought the beginning was darkly funny, and then it wasn't funny at all. It was sad, and it made me think about women's sexuality and how it is viewed. (I don't know if you can tell, but I liked it.) I feel sad and uncomfortable, and I'll probably be thinking about this for a while.

Other Mary said...

Oh, I found this much more sad than funny. It makes me think of far too many repressive parents and guilt ridden children.

21 Wits said...

A lovely fun read!

21 Wits said...

A lovely fun read!

Lady In Read said...

very cleverly done. and yes, as kids, we were told ... not much...

Yvonne Osborne said...

Hank,
Thanks!

Izzy,
Thank you.

Martine,
Not strange at all. Thanks.

Frances,
Thanks!

Thank you, Helen.

Wendy,
Thanks so much.

Hi Alex!
Thank you.

Heidi,
That is exactly what I wanted people to feel and think about. So I was successful. Thank you.

Other Mary,
Yeah, "Mother's going to put all her fears into me." Thank you.

Karen,
Thank you.

Lady Read,
Thanks!

Margaret said...

You've made a powerful statement here!!

Jemi Fraser said...

Have to say I laughed out loud! Then I got sad - well done!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Margaret,
Thanks so much.

Jemi,
Hi. I know...I've gotten some mixed responses on this one.

Searching for the Story said...

Oh! So brief but with a glimpse into something really disturbing. You touched a morbid nerve here.

Anonymous said...

Great response to the prompt. It's funny about instructions given to the young, assuming guilt when many have no idea what it is they're supposed to have done...

Yvonne Osborne said...

Ethan,
Hi! Thank you. I'm glad it moved you to comment:)

Turtle,
Yes. We do all of that. Thank you so much.

Kathe W. said...

darkly funny- amazing how some kids were raised.

Tess Kincaid said...

Intimate. Smart. Loved it...

Yvonne Osborne said...

Kathy,
Thanks.

Tess,
Thank you! And thanks for these amazing prompts.

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Excellent write - love it.

Anna :o]

Yvonne Osborne said...

Hi Anna,
Thank you!!

Vanessa Victoria Kilmer said...

Freud would have a field day with this. ;)

Yvonne Osborne said...

Nessa,
Ha! He'd probably try to put me in a "sanitarium"!

Lydia said...

Shocking! (in a brilliantly-written-sort-of-way!)

Yvonne Osborne said...

Lydia,
why...thank you. Thanks a bunch for commenting.