damn I thought that was back channel.
Ok, added here. Sorry, folks:
Boot Hill II: Straw Skimmers
(for MJM)
It hung in the back of a crowded closet
in the spare bedroom among debris
she'd collected over a lifetime:
Misshapen sweaters, shoeboxes full
of rubbish, yellowed receipts
and shoes. A straw skimmer the color
of moldy hay, frayed, dirty ribbon,
once rose held to the hat by a rusty safety pin.
Who remembers when she bought the hat
to threat herself with her first paycheck?
How she sauntered down Main Street
and caught a cowboy's eye?
How gentle he was when he laid
his Stetson atop her skimmer that first time?
Why he stomped the hat on the way
to another binge and long disappearance?
We remember his rough ways,
but forget how tender his touch could be;
we remember her soft voice,
her hard and stubborn habits overlooked.
There were other hats, bagged and boxed
bonnets for church and garden club -
flowered frills, wide brims and pill boxes.
The skimmer consigned to servant duties:
garden sunshade, basket for flowers,
herbs and eggs, costume for pretend-teas,
bed for Fluff's sick kitten.
In her sickness, the family
descended to cart away needlework,
memories and dusty hatboxes.
From a crowded closet in Papa's room,
I rescued the skimmer.
Today, we buried Mama in the double
plot bought with her egg money. I snuck
the skimmer into her coffin, his last gift.
January guest Nat at: http://gardawg.homestead.com/gardawg.html,
Submissions: http://www.writershood.com/index.html
Poets for Peace. ˇPoemas sí, balas no!
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