Mary Makes the Best Cinnamon Rolls
pacifisticuffs and dirt claud wars
at the MCC relief sale
we play football on the lawn after church
while our parents chat about whatever
youth group trips to native reservations
or major cities
to play cards with hobos and paint houses
and make lots of inside jokes
christmas plays based on the breakfast club
or james bond or dragnet
followed by paper bags
stuffed with oranges peanuts and candy
and a table with more cookies
or trunk-er-treating
outside a barn
after a hayride
and hot apple cider
we talk about the other kids at school
who lost their virginity in 3rd grade
on some bridge
and the pregnant girls in our eighth grade class
my youth pastors wife has a kid in her 2nd grade class
who likes to throw chairs
we all thank god that our parents give us enough attention
we go up to camp in the mountains
where we see all the friends that we made from last year
and hike and sing songs
climb rocks and race kayaks
or play broomball if the lake is frozen
Mary makes the best cinnamon rolls
sometimes we hold hands with girls from kansas
A beautiful poem. I have never known what it's like to grow up Mennonite, as the late transfer into the Mennonite world that I am. But this poem seems to do a good job showing what at least on life was like. I enjoyed the verses like "and make lots of inside jokes" and "we talk about the other kids at school/ who lost their virginity in 3rd grade." This is how a lot of non-Mennonites see the Mennonite circle in is entirety. a group of do-gooders who talk about those who are lesser than they are. Who make jokes no on else can understand. I see those verses as a small part of the whole, now. Inside jokes are made in the sense pf community. Not exclusion.
ReplyDeleteJacob, even though I didn't grow up in the Mennonite church, I've had a lot of similar experiences growing up in an evangelical church. A lot of the activities surrounding youth group you mentioned, such as "football on the lawn after church," "youth group trips to reservations," "we go up to camp in the mountains," "and make a lot of inside jokes," etc. are all things I did growing up in the church.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciated the simplicity of this piece and the eventual complexity you added in the last two stanzas.
I really love this poem! What I love the most about it is that, as a Mennonite, I can read this poem and not feel like I'm reading a stereotypical Mennonite poem. I appreciate that there are no mentions of quilts or borscht. I enjoyed the second stanza a lot--it carries some great imagery! Well done, Jacob!
ReplyDeleteAlso, yes, Mary does make the best cinnamon rolls!
It's interesting how your details both create a sense of an in-group, yet also serve to draw in readers from different (but similar) backgrounds. Nature, food, and games are prominent in your poem--showing lots of relationships and connections. In a couple of places you could help to set the scene a bit more clearly so your reader knows when you've moved from the Relief Sale to . . . someplace else.
ReplyDelete