Knowledge

when I was a shy child with red-rimmed eyes my sisters and I

didn’t know that some families talked laughed kissed goodbye

that kindred and friends visited & whispered secrets played cards

that some families invited others to have a beer in the backyard

or share company dinner with chicken mashed potatoes buttered rolls

I did know that one summer elderly neighbors kindly souls

invited all three of us girls for ice cream the drum-beat summer heat

had retreated and we sat at their wooden picnic table for our treat

they talked made us laugh the ice cream was strawberry rampant with bright pink

fruit icy paradise in my mouth too soon darkness began to sink

like a sheer curtain over the neighborhood yards lights

came on in windows children dogs were called inside

we skipped home stuffed satisfied with new awareness

happy as princesses the first stars shining down on us

SELECTED WRITINGS: