I sit dainty at my table,
Plate and finger poised just so,
When I notice workmen pausing.
From across the mud-drenched garden,
They lift their bottles, put down baguettes,
And contemplate this middle-aged white woman
In a house far too big, eating alone.
Their wave of raw appraisal hits in fluxes,
Till I rush to close the shutters, hide
My morsels in the dark.
So the pebbles clatter roundly
To fill the base of your fishbowl,
Stinging scarlet your scales of gold.
Disapproved, disproved, smirked at,
The woman sits and scribbles wildly,
While we pile our judgements up in mounds.
Ragamuffin she seeks flotsam
Debris of a human life
To make up stories
No one wants to read at all.
Inspired by the workmen, crane and building site just opposite my living room and study. Noise, dust and curious eyes have accompanied me for a few weeks now… I am almost hoping for REALLY bad weather, so that they have to stop work. [The last 3 days of pouring rain were not enough to dampen their enthusiasm.] They are not there now, it’s the sacred French lunch break.
findingtimetowrite 
Marina Sofia – Oh, you have captured that feeling so well! I always feel exactly that way whenever there are landscapers at work around here. It’s an uncomfortable feeling isn’t it?
I’m sure they love my laundry too…
I would feel so strange making breakfast while they worked in the yard/garden, I would always whip something up for them too even if it was just toast with butter and a pitcher of lemonade .
I think they would be puzzled if I did that, as it’s not my garden they are working in. They are building a house on the next lane.
I’ve had workmen recently too – they do like a good gawp don’t they. Your poem sums up that feeling of being observed…
I really appreciate the imagery used here. Besides the fishbowl image (especially with its gold stung scarlet inhabitants), the contrast in the work you do. — their building something utilitarian and your building worlds with words– is quite striking.
Glad to meet you, by the way!
A pleasure meeting you too, and thank you for your visit to my blog! I hadn’t consciously thought about the contrast, although unconsciously I must have felt it of course. Great observation!
LOL love your description. You wouldn’t want to be on big brother, then, I gather… 🙂
Lovely work 😀