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Phyllis
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A LETTER OBSESSION
When I was younger
my alphabet book
told me "V" is for vase,
violin, and vegetables.
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As I grew older,
I found "V" is also
for velocity, vicuna,
and valedictorian.
Now, the only thing
"V" is for is VICTORY!
We are obsessed
with the letter "V."
"V" is for victory gardens,
victory dishes, victory brooches,
victory puzzles, victory bobbie pins,
victory cookbooks, victory comics.
"V" is everywhere—
on signs, in magazines,
on old ladies, in windows.
Dot dot dot dash.
Will there ever be a day
when "V" will once again
be one letter, among many,
in an alphabet book?
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved. The photo, and other objects are from the author's personal collection.
3 comments:
The photo is perfect for this poem, Diane. Thanks for generously sharing your work on this project. The fall issue of UMaine Today has an article called The Art of War. Maine's Bangor Public Library has almost 800 posters from world wars. They are being digitized on the U Maine server. I thought of you as I read the article.
The photo is of my father and his friends! Let me know if you find out when the Bangor P.L. collection is available online.
Cool poem, Diane. Weighty topic but grounded in great everyday, even amusing, particulars!
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