I was once the world champion
in candlepin bowling. This was
three years running, in the ’80s.
(I no longer apologize for my
teased bangs in all the photos, or
my acid-washed bowling pants.)
I keep all my trophies in a case
that my father made for me—
hand-carved, gorgeous, with a
glass front that I dust using the
first-shorn wool of only my best
llamas. (I saved my prize money
carefully—that’s how I bought
this ranch.) Llama ranching has
its own satisfactions, ways to
stay competitive: fiber length
and fineness, for example, or
guarding tendencies—but not
meat production, though this is
a line I’ve been asked to cross,
many times. Nonetheless,
there are times when I miss
the circuit. Candlepin bowlers
are a tightknit group, and my
hand still longs for the ball,
my ears (I can admit this) for
the twin hushed crashes of
pins, then applause. This, not
cruelty, is why I often dream of
lining up the baby llamas, the
crias, quietly knocking them
down before their mothers
even know that they’re gone.
NaPoWriMo, Day 2 prompt: a poem that tells a lie. Oh, jeez, and it’s also Open Link Night! Will link there this evening.
Marilyn Rauch Cavicchia 
This is hilarious- I love the combination of the bowling and llamas – the final lines are just so funny and just not right! K
Thanks, K! I know nothing about candlepin bowling and very little about llamas. Somehow they combined into a big lie poem while I was on my way to work this morning. I was definitely going for “not right” with those last couple of lines. 🙂
I am so grateful for your participation in NaPoWriMo.
Wow, thank you, complynn! That means a lot to me — thanks so much for reading all year long.
the way you blend the two topic an the two images is quite creative
Where is the Food when mother is not?
Thanks, Tammy!
LOL. Very funny. I like.
Thanks, Karin! It was fun to get back to persona poems.
Very fun to bounce back and forth, and then they mesh together! Lovely work!
Thank you, Linds! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Hahaha – what a funny image! My neighbor has llamas too, and I can picture those babies clattering over! Your lines leading up to this made it all the more of punch at the end.
I hope your neighbor doesn’t bowl with them! I can’t decide if the persona in this poem is actually kind of cruel, or if it’s OK because it’s just a fantasy she has — and because I’m sure she’d do it very gently. The image did amuse me, and I’m glad it amused you, too.
Lol. Made me want to go bowling.
And llama ranching? 🙂
This is brilliant and delightful. I am envious. 🙂
Fun and smart poem…brava!
Thanks, kkkaty!
those teased bangs and acid-washed bowling pants …how good to get these into this fun poem!! love it.
Thanks, geraldine! I did have fun with this one. 🙂