Delmarva Review

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, see here: Privacy Policy
  • About Us
    • Our History
    • Our Mission
    • Our Editors
    • Our Supporters
  • Our Journal
    • Current Issue
    • Back Issues
    • News
  • Features
    • Prose & Poetry
    • Interviews
    • Podcasts
  • Friends
  • Submissions
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

Pushcart-nominated “Responsibility ” by Holly Karapetkova

December 3, 2018 By The Editorial Team

Holly Karapetkova
Holly Karapetkova

Holly Karapetkova

RESPONSIBILITY

Excerpt from Delmarva Review Volume 11. Adapted for podcast production by Delmarva Public Radio, Writer's Edition. 

“When the kitchen breakfast is over, and the cook has put all things in their proper places, the mistress should go in to give her orders… The mistress must tax her own memory with all this: we have no right to expect slaves or hired servants to be more attentive to our interest than we ourselves are.”
-Mary Randolph, Virginia Housewife;
Or, Methodical Cook, 1828

With one hand                                       I serve teacakes on
the blue                                                    India china,
with the other                                        I wipe mosquitoes
sweating                                                   from my neck.

With one voice                                       I order French
tureens from Calder’s                          & Co.,
with another                                           I order the cook
not to burn                                             the gravy.

The hush of                                            what is beneath the
damask                                                     tablecloth
at night                                                     grows knives.

With one mouth                                   I smile at
the good doctor with                           the other I grit
my teeth                                                  watching dark eyes
always                                                      watching me.

They know what moves                     in shadows
refuse to polish                                     the silver
for love of                                               tarnish. They know
the other names                                    for everything names
they flash                                                like knives
when no one is around                      looking.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Feature, Prose & Poetry Tagged With: Holly Karapetkova, Poetry

Become a Friend

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Spy Reprints “E Duo Unum” by Maxine Poe-Jensen
  • Spy Reprints “Butchery” by Josh Trapani
  • Spy Reprints “I Want to Order a Man from the Sweets Catalog” by Fran Abrams

Delmarva Review Literary Fund
PO Box 544
St. Michaels, MD 21663

Our Privacy Policy

© Copyright Delmarva Review

Background photo credit: Wilson Wyatt, Jr.

Connect With Us

Twitter Facebook

Copyright © 2023