Bitter Matriarch: Poems on Family, the Universe and Belonging

By Rebecca Trowbridge

For anyone who has inherited generational suffering, Bitter Matriarch is a curative collection of poetry that explores family dynamics, spiritual growth and the human need for belonging. Poems from this collection were chosen for inclusion in the Enchanting Verses Literary Review (Australian Edition) 2019 edited by Siobhan Hodge and Amy Lin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rebecca Trowbridge
• Release date: Oct 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463638071

Rebecca Trowbridge

Bi-racial, multi-language, author and self-translator, coming off a plane on a balmy night, geology, scientific method, new age mother, daughter is the first daughter of a first daughter of a first daughter of a first daughter, other child is the second child of a second child of a second child, kitsch, amusement rides in shopping centres, carnivals, music cul-de-sac, people who draw, words, night-time jazz, Tom Waits in the early 70s, writing in the wee hours, comfortable underground, eating not cooking, tea rather than coffee but coffee ok even instant, French winters, Melbourne summers, pretentious anytime, skiing, softball, touch football, good times with friends and family, forget to wear costume jewelry, family planning, hot chocolate instead of champagne, noice hotels, texture, yellow, orange, ok all colours, listening practice, always wanted to do a backflip, gratitude, shandies, So You Think You Can Dance without the screaming audience without the judges and without the phone voting, karma and always learning, mentor, truth, looking at the ocean, looking at the sky, every moment counts, baby animals, interactive zoos, source of the pain, 5 whys, psychology, computer addiction however not a facebook addiction, expensive cigars gone stale, custard, apple pie, soft drinks are not for kids, WTF, no gardening but will pull out weeds, life is but a dream, can't go past the eel at a Japanese Restaurant, attitude, self-exploration, accidentally give away the end to movies and books, deep abiding devotion to Survivor reality show...

Book preview

My Mother Had Me Tortured & Killed

in Shang Times

Here I

still in her face be-

headed I

stand again.

We stub-

born, die for three-and-a-bit millennia

arguing like idiots.

ii. But We’ve All Done That

O, tremendous. Am I

the righteous vind-ictim of

that blinded, bitter, stony, battle-axe

reflection?

3000 years clean-handed?

That likeliness is

extremely

small

.

iii. Emperor of China

She was

of the Shang dynasty.

That one insight

by the wise-woman

explained our life.

She is tickled,

booking restaurants as

Emperor of China

with her pal

Princess of Tonga.

They are the centre of merriment

at yum cha

fêted by the maître

d’ and waiters.

Do I tell her the Emperor

executed a friend

for defending a peasant

blamed for a flood?

Best not dredge that up.

We have plenty on our plates

at present.

Back to top

Curses

You’ll fall, Grandma warns

kids climbing the counter.

Confess a crime and some friend

reminds you of karma.

We curse ourselves, curating words

serving self-hate at worst

or else clouting authority

like a doctor’s