Thrush Poetry Journal
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CL Bledsoe

Paddles

They carved notches in the handles,
or wrapped ragged tape around them

that was once white but faded to gray

from hand sweat. They wrote sayings
or gave them names like someone would

a ship or a pet. They painted them red

or painted racing stripes or flames down
the sides. The older the teacher, the more

elaborate the paddle, though coaches or any

male teachers often decorated theirs as well.
They’d hang them over the chalk board so all

the kids could see them, but this could imply

a lack of use. Some left them in a certain spot
on the desk for easy access. The youngest

and freshest might hide theirs in a desk, pale

and unadorned until the day they lost the class
and had to bring it out. The next day, it would

be painted, notched, hanging above the board. 




CL Bledsoe is the author of the four poetry collections, five novels, and one short fiction collection. A poetry chapbook,Goodbye to Noise, is available online at www.righthandpointing.com/bledsoe. Another, The Man Who Killed Himself in My Bathroom, is available at http://tenpagespress.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/the-man-who-killed-himself-in-my-bathroom-by-cl-bledsoe/. He’s been nominated for the Pushcart Prize 8 times, had 2 stories selected as Notable Stories by Story South's Million Writers Award, and has been nominated for Best of the Net twice.  He blogs at Murder Your Darlings,http://clbledsoe.blogspot.com  Bledsoe has written reviews for The Hollins Critic, The Arkansas Review, American Book Review, Prick of the Spindle, The Pedestal Magazine, and elsewhere. Bledsoe lives with his wife and daughter in Maryland.




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