Poem by Jude Jannet
Modern Life – November 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine
Backache
Middle aged man
All I want to do is sit on the porch and write poetry
to the birds and to the trees while they make love to me,
instead I must produce something so you
will pay me money to feed my children.
That is why I have a backache
Middle aged woman
Yes, I am very sick. The reason is my husband.
I do not fool you. I am truthful in this
All I want to be is a simple goddess
What he wants is a maid and a free lover.
It is not his fault. His mother taught him that way.
That is why I have a backache
Old man
I am so old now.
Before this time I had a wife to warm my
body and cook for me.
Did she die you ask. What does that matter?
The fact is she wore out and I could not afford a new one.
That is why I have a backache
Old woman
I am too old. I told the old goat I had been worn out
and could no longer work for him.
The real truth is this. All those years made me strong.
Now I work for myself on this little piece of
land my father left me because he had no sons.
I don’t have a backache!
Copyright © 1997 by Jude Jannet. All rights reserved.
