The Double Bind Dictionary
Helen Hajnoczky
$4
Cs
Cserkészek
check if you’re ready
roll and tighten your neckerchief—
roll your stockings, stand at attention,
sing songs with conviction
even if you don’t understand them,
you’ll be a more personable person for it
a more malleable hungarian.
paint eggs, throw rosewater
go a week without a shower.
dodge balls, weave leather—
serve mashed potatoes to your elders,
get on stage and recite your lines
with your practiced intonation,
with your shaky understanding.
wonder how well you know friends
who you cannot express yourself to—
who you cannot understand.
when you can, savour elicit snippets of english
together, hiding in the church parking lot.
if nothing else, you’re learning to keep secrets.
published in Ottawa by above/ground press
February 2013a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
This
is Helen Hajnoczky’s second above/ground press chapbook, after A history of button collecting (2010).
Helen Hajnoczky's first book Poets and Killers: A Life in Advertising
was published in 2010 by Snare Books, an imprint of Invisible Publishing. She
blogs http://ateacozyisasometimes.blogspot.ca/
and tweets @helenhajnoczky.
The Double Bind Dictionary is excerpted from the
book-length project Magyarazni, which
is generously supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts
To
order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; outside Canada, add $2) to: rob
mclennan, 402 McLeod St #3, Ottawa ON K2P 1A6 or paypal at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com
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