For the summer I’m going back to the series of pieces mythologizing my growing up in Cape Breton.
The Smart Girl
Magdalena Moore
was the smartest girl
in our village
her father Patrick Moore
was the county comptroller
so we figured she got her brains from him
and his wife Haldora Thorsen
who was in charge of the DNA splicing lab
at the fission plant
it was Haldora who labelled us
as monochromatic bores
who only cared about or health
when the villagers complained
about run off from the plant
Magdalena had copper hair
that glittered with flecks
of purple blue in the sunset
it was impossible not to be mesmerized
when she shook it loose
to cascade over her shoulders
all the boys
had a crush on her
they would pester her with small gifts
carved moose bones
robin spoons
all of which she accepted
with her bird-like laugh
all of which would show up
at the choir’s annual garage sale
no one cared
that she was wheel-chair bound
it added to her allure
for she had been born
with her legs fused together
from her crotch to her ankles
she did have feet
but the toes were also fused together
she made no secret of this
her mother claimed
there was no relation to Magdalena’s
fusion and the fission plan
or the genetic alterations in the moose
her work in genetics
proved that these things happened
with no prior cause
things change
Magdalena did change
as she grew older
she became bored of being
the smartest girl in the village
she longed to be an ordinary person
she became abusive
with anyone who said
I see you as a whole person
not as someone with fused legs
your real person is so much more
than that
besides you have such a pretty smile
she replied
if you don’t see them
you don’t see the real me
transcending my body
denies the full real me
when she got like this
people would pat her head
touch her hands to sooth her
or her mother would medicate her
it didn’t matter
how smart she was
as long as she was compliant
one summer her parents
entered her in the
Village Queen Beauty Contest
along with several other virgins
her talent was yodelling
because she was so brave
the judges were willing
to give her a pass on the swim suit
part of the contest
but she refused to take it
she rolled on the stage
at the end of the docks
wearing a bikini top
of two maple leaves
a beach towel to cover her
then she pulled the towel away
flaunting her fused legs
for all the world to see
at first people were too shocked
to look away
before they could react
she threw herself into the water
her parents sat
on the edge of the pier
weeping
hoping their tears
could lure her back
when they found her body
two days later
her legs were no longer fused
This a brand new Village Story. I wrote some fresh ones to have enough to post this summer. I wanted to see if I could return to the voice of my narrator and also challenge myself with more contemporary issues. In this case disability. It is also an echo of one of the earlier pieces: Consumption https://wp.me/p1RtxU-1gr.
Followers of my blog will also see the influence of Andrew Gurza‘s Disability After Dark podcast. He talks clearly about representation & acceptance. I wanted write about those issues while working them into the fabric of this mythology. I hope I’ve struck a balance between irony & compassion & humour.
I revisit the unwillingness of commerce to be accountable for their actions: i.e. the fission plant’s genetic damage to the villagers. A denial that continues even when one of the victim’s is their own children. It makes me think of the Flint water crisis clearly caused by industry but no one has offered a solution merely blame.
I touch on that ablism that happens when people think they are being sensitive – ‘you have such a pretty smile’ – Implying that the smile is some sort of compensation for the damaged body, so cheer up. The medicating is another of those avoidances. When the disabled try to bring attention to their needs they are often considered uncooperative & truculent. It’s easier to medicate them than listen to them.
The ending is harsh but I wanted to push out of my comfort zone. Andrew has been told, more than once, by an abled person that if they were as disabled as he they would probably kill themselves and that he was so brave. I also wanted to avoid the obvious ending – she turns into a mermaid & swims away. So went for that harsh ending.
Hey! Now you can give me $$$ to defray blog fees & buy coffee in Washington at 2018’s capfireslam.org – sweet,eh? paypal.me/TOpoet
Hahaha! I love the way you write!!! You’ve got us going psyching our minds!❤❤❤❤❤