Great-Grandmother

Every time I saw her,

she was sitting in the same chair,

and when she spoke,

I couldn’t understand her.

 

I didn’t spend much time with her,

except for when I was sick

and she and my grandmother

took care of me.

 

I lay on the couch,

and she sat in her chair,

until I rose and ran past her

and she yelled after me, ‘Stupid!’

 

She was right.

On that run,

I managed to knock a vase off its table

and shatter what had existed for years.

 

 

Harrassment

 

It’s an ordinary night.

I’m watching television

with my brother and sister.

Between the dialogue and the laughs,

we hear the thumps of soft objects

hitting our front door

as motorcycles race past.

 

I don’t get up, because I know

the projectiles are rotten apples

thrown by boys I know at school.

My father must hear the sounds, too,

but he doesn’t leave his studio.

 

The first time it happened

I went out to the front porch.

The street was empty, but there were

brown smudges of vegetable matter

stuck to the outside of the house.

 

No one ever cleaned the walls.

The lumps dried onto the paint.

 

Mother's Advice

 

Go to the black spring,

bring your lunch

and eat it cold.

 

Walk to the water circle,

dive to the bottom,

and nail your question

to the dragon’s door.

Be careful

not to anger the dragon

and drown.

 

Float back slowly

into the sun’s glow.

 

Go home knowing

you will be a legend

for reaching so deep.