"Suburban" by Michael Blumenthal
Subject
- English & Language Arts
Language
English — USUpdated
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Conformity 1 caught here, nobody catches it,
Lawns groomed in prose, with hardly a stutter.
Lloyd hits the ball, and Lorraine fetches it.
Mom hangs the laundry, Fred, Jr., watches it,
Shirts in the clichéd air, all aflutter.
Conformity caught here, nobody catches it.
A dog drops a bone, another dog snatches it.
I dreamed of this life once, Now I shudder
As Lloyd hits the ball and Lorraine fetches it.
A doldrum 2 of leaky roofs, a roofer who patches it,
Lloyd prowls the streets, still clutching his putter.
Conformity caught here, nobody catches it.
The tediumed 3 rake, the retiree who matches it,
The fall air gone dead with the pure drone of motors
While Lloyd hits the ball, and Lorraine just fetches it.
The door is ajar, then somebody latches it.
Through the hissing of barbecues poets mutter
Of conformity caught here, where nobody catches it.
Lloyd hits the ball. And damned Lorraine fetches it.
Credit Line: From Against Romance by Michael Blumenthal, published by Viking Penguin, Inc. Copyright © 1987 by Michael Blumenthal. Used by permission of the author.
Use the See Hear, Feel Connection Questions handout to help students analyze this text.
How to Cite This Reading
Facing History & Ourselves, “"Suburban" by Michael Blumenthal”, last updated August 8, 2024.
This reading contains text not authored by Facing History & Ourselves. See footnotes for source information.