My mother taped mittens to my wrists,
that made my hands sweat
into wet worms without purchase.
She told me that you were dangerous
but by then I was older,
knew how to sink my claws in,
and to give in to the itch.
My mother taped mittens to my wrists,
that made my hands sweat
into wet worms without purchase.
She told me that you were dangerous
but by then I was older,
knew how to sink my claws in,
and to give in to the itch.
Carol J Forrester 
Gorgeous
Thank you very much.
Ha! I am deeply allergic to insect bites. I sympathize with the wearing of those sweat wet mittens. Glad you scratched!
I have to admit that I’ve never actually worn them, but I do get eczema on my legs so if the weather changes suddenly I’m all sorts of itchy. Felt this was a more interesting poem than me squirming around like a madwoman each time the season changes because my legs are on fire.
I can imagine the agony on both sides of the problem 😩
Indeed. It’s a tricky situation.
I like the “wet worms” image…
Thank you. 🙂
That must have been really uncomfortable ~ But I admire the change of character from following orders to taking control of one’s life, and giving in to the temptation ~ Thanks for joining us ~
Thanks for having me.
I can imagine the tape would make the hands sweat.
Now I’ve not actually had mitts taped to my hands before, only the threat of it raised, but I imagine you wrap it over the top of the mitts to narrow the openings over the wrists rather than sticking the tape to the skin. Not as bad but no doubt still unpleasant.
What a wonderful take on the prompt!
Thank you. I’ve been lucky enough to avoid any fly bites this year and I didn’t think another poem about sunburn would fit the bill .
That brings back memories!😊
Oh really? Care to share any of them?
This conjures images of my granddaughter whose ezcema is so bad her mother has had to resort to mitts.
I suffer on my legs from eczema but it’s got better as I’ve got older. I still get flare ups when the seasons change though. The house is full or random tubs of sudocrem as a result.
Such an annoying condition.
Mitts! That just makes the itch worse. I love the voice and the tone you give this.
Thank you. It took some working to get it right so it’s lovely to hear you enjoyed it.
I did!
hands sweat into wet worms–
what an image, excellent!
Thank you. I changes the whole poem a couple of times trying to get it right but that phrase stayed put.
It is so hard to suppress the urge to itch and once you do it’s chaos. I once had poison sumac and that was the worst, it spread all over my body. It was not fun.
I’ve never heard of poison sumac. I get eczema on my legs each year with the change of seasons and I’m sensitive to certain cleaning products, yet despite twenty-five years of dealing with this I still can’t resist the urge to itch. I must admit that I’m never actually been forced to wear mittens however. My husband does suggest it each time my eczema flares up however.
To Transcend
And Ascend
the Itches
of Life
Verily
Takes Practice
outside of Mittens
However Mittens are a Start…
With Tactile Over-Sensitivity
just the thought of Touching
almost anything Human Made is
beyond
what most
folks imagine
is itch or pain..
no words just no words
but no putting on the Mittens at all..
now.. so many Negative things in LiFE i’ve Transcended
And Ascended But Never Most Human Made Stuff to Touch..:)
I have to say, I felt sorry for the mother in this one! Hard to manage a child when it means distressing them…it’s a powerful little poem, lots and lots packed tight into 44 words.
Thank you Sarah. I’m glad to hear you say that, it’s nice to see how people connect with the different characters in the poem.
I agree with Sarah – a powerful little poem, Carol! I remember mittens sewn into sleeves and find ‘wet worms without purchase’ so effective. I have terrible eczema on my hands and arms at the moment, which is further exacerbated by rubber gloves, which I have to wear as I’m sensitive to cleaning products! I love the way the two different relationships are presented in forty four words.
I sympathize with you over your hands. I’m sensitive to cleaning products too. For some reason washing up liquid makes my skin blister really easily so gloves are a must more me too.
Thanks Carol.
Love the tone in this deliciously dark poem. Mittens just make the itching worse.
I didn’t intend for it to come across as dark when I started writing it, but I love that you call it deliciously dark.
WOW! Just WOW! I wish you were sitting beside me as I’m sipping my coffee and could hear my out-loud WOW as I finished reading this! You really included a twist at the end….I had a quizzical look on my brow, I’m sure, as I read the first few lines??? Mittens taped on hands??…..and then the END! So so well done!
Thank you, I’m really happy to receive such a lovely compliment.
this is such a testament to memories, and the wording is absolutely fascinating ~ and of course, the transition that is seamless, and the ending, which brings us to a whole new place – it’s amazing how you’ve transitioned us seamlessly from innocence to independent adult exploration …
all in 44 well crafted and chosen words – wow!
Thank you very much. It took a few goes to get the transition right so I’m really glad you liked it.
Mother’s wisdom… a good thing when you are young or old!
Indeed it is.
Goodness, Carol, now I’m feeling sweaty and itchy all at once!
Haha, my evil plan has worked.
Love those “wet worms”.
Thank you. It seems to be the imagery that most people have enjoyed in this.
Wow…an unexpected turn of reflections. LOVED it. As one who cares and educates 10 toddlers on any given day, I say yes to taped mittens!
Thank you Mish. I’m glad you like it.
Sooo… was he cute and as dangerous as Mother thought? Did mother help the girl avoid rash decisions? Wonderful sweet entendre. Well done.