"Crumbs" by Hal Sirowitz from Word of Mouth (Reading Response)

Much like Hal Sirowitz's other poem "Horns on Your Head," this one follows the advice/scolding of a concerned mother to her child.  This time, the mother reminds me of my own when she tells her child "don't eat any food in your room" or it will attract "more bugs."  As many folks know, bugs love to be anywhere where there is food.  My mom reminded me of this when I was younger, and i'm sure a lot of other mothers remind their children.  So, those quotes alone make this poem very relatable.  Next, the mother begins to complain about the child continuously feeding the bugs.  She says "who do you want to make happy, / your mother or a bunch of ants?"  It is like she is guilt-tripping her child into obeying her orders.  In my mind, the mother is rambling her words quite fast, like she's not putting much thought or seriousness into what she's saying, but just wants to spew a bunch of words so it can seem like she's giving her child a lecture.  This might be because the mother reminds me of Fran's mom from The Nanny television show.  Fran's mom gives her daughter advice that is not well-thought out, and accompanies it with a guilt-trip.  This mother may remind me of Fran's because I read that Sirowitz is from Flushing, just like Fran; and also the mother is Jewish in "Horns on Your Head," and Fran's mother is Jewish, so perhaps the mother from this poem is Jewish.  This poem basically taught me that familiarity and relatability can equal likability to a poem's readers.