That Fateful Sunday Dinner The clink of silverware, Sammy Kaye's Sunday Serenade, amiable background music for Iowa after-church diners. The scent of Evening in Paris mingles with that of pot roast. A news bulletin interrupts a smooth danceable melody: Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Diners gasp, ask a flock of questions. Does this mean we're at war? Where is Pearl Harbor? Doris, in her gold waitress uniform, shudders. One brother in the navy, and her other brothers are "all the wrong ages." Five brothers serve. Only two come home.
Published in Lyrical Iowa 2023.
National/World Events Category: “Any form, 20-line limit; at bottom of page, include 1-2 line summary of event & date, but do not count these lines.” Mine read: “Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Sunday December 7, 1941.”
The Lyrical Iowa Competition this year included a new Grant Wood Poetry Prize. The photos on the front and back covers show areas he used in his paintings.
I can’t even imagine what they went through. Congratulations, Joy.
Thank you, GP. I wonder if Mom relived it every Pearl Harbor Day.
I’ll bet she probably did.
I know there were many things that brought it all back.
Congratulations on the well-deserved selection of your poem for the anthology, Joy!
Thank you. It was a lovely surprise.
You’re welcome. 🙂
Yes, Evening in Paris and “where is Pearl Harbor?” Very nice Joy
Bless you for your comment, Deb.
This poem is a wonderful way to pay tribute to that pivotal moment in your family’s history. And congratulations, Joy, for its recognition. 🙂
Thank you, Nancy.