Ritualizing

Poem of the Day:
Deborah Gorlin's "Mischief Night"
Bodily Course

This summer I am living with my best friend Steph and her boyfriend Dan. Thus far we have cooked and eaten most dinners together; we have coined them 'family dinners' and various other cute phrases. The excitement of living away from home with friends is still strong.

Tonight Dan ate dinner at his parent's house (they live close by) to celebrate a family birthday. Hence, Steph and I had a little more space at the table this evening. We cooked up some tasty burritos, and despite our missing man we were able to find a kitchen rhythm in the stirring of rice and beans.

Gorlin's poem follows children on Mischief Night, the eve of Halloween. With a lyrical grace Gorlin creates the scene of a ritual tense with excitement; "At our small square desks, we do our homework./Repeat the moon is a primer, soon be wintry cold./All the while, fashion our faces, gaudy as gourds,/listen at the window, despite our parents" (lines 8-11). The entire scene becomes charged with the anticipation of children, so much so that the crass turns fantastical: "In bathrooms our urine is cider" (line 13).

Gorlin creates a scene of indulgent ritual; the children delight in the superstitions of the night until the morning that brings the reality of "pumpkins smashed in the streets" (line 19).

Steph and I too found an indulgent ritual in a house of just girls for the night. After dinner we crawled into our pajamas grabbed some snacks and put on The Devil Wears Prada. In these post-dinner hours we were giggly; there was something thrilling about watching a mindless movie in sweatpants while eating ice cream. It was our own Gorlin-inspired world, mischievous in its own right.

Sincerely,
A Poem A Day Audrey