Welcome to Poetically Yours. Poetically Yours showcases poems by northern Illinois poets. This week’s poet is Carol Alfus.
Alfus has lived in McHenry County for most of her life, where she raised her family and taught special education. Now retired, she enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, and most of all spending time with her grandchildren. She has always loved writing, but poetry is her favorite. She loves the way a poem can tell a story, capture a moment, or express a range of emotions from wonder, to anger, to joy, to bliss and beyond.
Alfus takes her inspiration from the sublime (the night sky, the beauty of nature) to the ridiculous (parking lot gulls, fortune cookies) as well as the deeply personal (the birth of a grandchild, the death of a loved one). She belongs to a poetry group at her Unitarian Universalist Church, and enjoys sharing her poems with family, friends and at various open mic nights around Woodstock.
Alfus has volunteered with programs for people without housing, environmental and conservation organizations and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Here’s her poem “Middle Child.”
I am the fourth of seven children--
two sisters and one brother both above and below me--
an unintentional, yet pleasing symmetry
on my parents’ part.
I have read that middle children often feel ignored--
overshadowed by achievements of their older siblings,
outshone by the cuteness of the little ones…
I honestly don’t remember ever feeling that way.
I played guitar, sang in choirs, acted in plays.
I daily practiced my French lessons on my poor mother:
Maman! Qu’est-ce qu’on mange pour le diner ce soir?
I undoubtedly annoyed my siblings by parroting TV commercials,
breaking into song, and speaking in strange accents.
Whether this behavior was born of some subconscious design
or my own natural quirkiness, I cannot say,
but this middle child stayed front and center
by being the boisterous slice of ham in the family sandwich.
They couldn’t have ignored me if they wanted to.
~Carol Alfus
February 17, 2025
