This is Michael Carey for Voices from the Prairie a weekly sampling from the rich soil of Iowa’s literary tradition. Today’s poem is "Househusband" by Mel Wilk a fine poet who teaches at Simpson College in Indianola. Mel’s poems often carry the love for and the weight of the Judaic tradition he was born into. In this modern poem concerning modern relationships and desires, he subtly and beautifully couches his personal, emotional and spiritual search for deliverance in ancient Jewish metaphors.
At home while the world is at work,
he rinses the breakfast dishes
and looks through the window
until the schoolbus disappears.
He shuts the faucet
and the sunlight swirls down the drain.
Above the window sill the flowers open
but they don’t speak.
He fixes up another of instant
and sits on the sofa as if he were facing the ark.
Unable to pray, he slumps, switches on the television
and it’s as if night has fallen.
When she comes home from work
he serves the supper. And while he washes the dishes,
she collapses in front of the television.
He stares at the shut daylilies.
He wants her to hold him like a clarinet.
He wants to be breathed into.
He wants his own T.V. Something portable and light,
like an ancient sanctuary
but more suitable to this wilderness.
"House Husband" by Mel Wilk from In Exile published by BkMk Press.
For Voices from the Prairie and Humanities Iowa, this is Michael Carey hoping you continue to hear the music blooming al around you.
Biography
Originally
from New York City Melvin Wilk is now lives in Des Moines and is Professor of
English at Simpson College in Indianola. His first book of poetry In Exile
was published in 1979 by BkMk Press of Kansas City, Missouri.