Chlora's Bandwagon
© 1999 Ginger Henry Geyer
glazed porcelain
7 ¼" x 13" x 30"
Adaptations of John Constable's The Hay Wain, an Italian Romanesque fresco of Elijah on the Chariot of Fire, and Frederick Remington's The Emigrants
(Link to Chlora's Good Samaritan Dr. Kit)
Chlora yanked her Radio Flyer down the block
aiming for every crack and bulge
where oak roots triumphed over concrete
just like Alaskan earthquake pictures in Life magazine.
It wasn’t her fault that her stupid little sister stuck
a pinto bean up her nose.
The Doctor said she’s lucky it hadn’t sprouted.
Too bad, beanstalk kid, no hayride for you
it’s been a tough day for this ambulance,
saving farmers whose arms got caught in thrashers,
and wagon-trainers who got caught by Indians from Oklahoma
who stole her doctor kit and ate all the candy pills.
Chlora would just wheel on down to the flooded gutter
and fill up with crawdads, find a picture of exotic lobsters
and sell them for a dime tomorrow. Better than lemonade.
That smelly fog was creeping across the neighborhood again,
keeping us all sterile and safe.
She put black electrical tape over her nose
and headed for home. But her life was getting too horizontal.
She wanted to go up, up, up like Elijah,
become an elevator operator
and push all the fat ladies off
on the lingerie floor.
