I sat staring deep into the flames, listening to voices stirring the wind around me. Soft footfalls pressed through the grass stalks, rustling gently. Though I couldn't see them, I knew they were ... [+]
Sugar-girl
cherry-cheeked
(double dimples)
freckle-kissed and sweaty:
pavement-scraped sanguine-elbows
dusty soles
blackened like cow-pies.
Baskets (crab-apple
stomach-aches
(lucky-day) wild-strawberries
ant-ridden
ruby-reds):
knobby climbing-trees
(sassafras,
tick-bites)
home for supper
(with sweet tea).
First in
freedom.
Big-girl of first-in-flight:
rotten-teeth
yes-ma'am
no-sir
Sped up, dropped drawl;
same dimples.
No trace of red-necked girl,
new place with real winter;
stinky-tar
turf-grass
snow-boots
dirty-slush;
haven't smelled
sun in weeks
(stale air, plastic Christmas tree)
cicada-less
summer.
cherry-cheeked
(double dimples)
freckle-kissed and sweaty:
pavement-scraped sanguine-elbows
dusty soles
blackened like cow-pies.
Baskets (crab-apple
stomach-aches
(lucky-day) wild-strawberries
ant-ridden
ruby-reds):
knobby climbing-trees
(sassafras,
tick-bites)
home for supper
(with sweet tea).
First in
freedom.
Big-girl of first-in-flight:
rotten-teeth
yes-ma'am
no-sir
Sped up, dropped drawl;
same dimples.
No trace of red-necked girl,
new place with real winter;
stinky-tar
turf-grass
snow-boots
dirty-slush;
haven't smelled
sun in weeks
(stale air, plastic Christmas tree)
cicada-less
summer.