How Burma Shave Saved the Day by Nancy Scott

How Burma Shave Saved the Day
by
Nancy Scott

Sunday afternoon, road out of Sycamore.

“A short-cut,” Dad says, just miles of blacktop

dissecting cornfields, saucer-eyed cows giving us

the once-over. Rickey and I locked in the back seat

for hours, straight from a boring visit with

Uncle Seymour who sells cheap print dresses

and smells of cigars. Our fingers draw pouty mouths,

flying ringlets, tic-tac-toe grids on the frosty windows.

“Stop that.” Mom whips her arm from the front seat

and misses. Rickey grabs his throat. “I’m gonna

throw up if we don’t stop soon.” Then we spot them,

the signs at the side of the road:

Cattle Crossing / Means Go Slow / That Old Bull /

Is Some Cow’s Beau / Burma Shave

Suddenly we’re on an adventure, one set of signs means

another ahead. Sure enough, but in the opposite direction.

We crane our necks.

Burma Shave / I’ll Cook The Rice / The Wedding’s Off /

And Said, No Dice / She Eyed His Beard

We can’t be stopped. Pat’s Bristles–bouncing-Scratched

-faster and faster-Bridget’s Nose-giggling–That’s When

–ducking–Her Wild Irish Rose–until Burma Shave hours

become whispers and it’s dark when we get home.

This poem first appeared in U.S.1 Worksheets, 2003.
Used here with the author's permission.

Nancy Scott was an author and artist in New Jersey. Managing editor of U.S. 1 Worksheets for more than a decade, she was the author of five full-length books and four chapbooks. Nancy began writing poetry in the mid-‘90s as a way to share experiences and insights from her earlier career as a social worker. Nancy's latest poetry collection, A Little Excitement, was named "first choice for summer 2021 reading" by North of Oxford. Her art was frequently hung in juried shows and, sometimes, her poetry and art were featured together.

Buckner14:
I remember, I remember!
Posted 09/19/2010 07:46 AM

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