she wanted to try on her mother's shoes so
she opened the closet.

in the closet she found hard pursed lips and
a voice of steel.

a forehead crease and polite gesture. she found
a gravel pit way back in the back.

a pile of rocks. a reservoir. a conveyer belt. a
steady drum-dee-dee-dum of logic.

behind the logic a pair of boots. behind the
boots a pill to help her sleep.

she wanted to try on her mother's shoes and
found a birth certificate bent at the corners.

a mimeograph. a name and then another. found
a memory on a hanger.

found a prom ticket that smelled of bobby pins. she
found a twitch under a left eye and an acorn-

shaped expression. she wanted to try on her
mother's shoes. she stepped into the closet.

she found a closet in the closet. in the closet
she found a trunk.

she found a box inside the trunk. inside the box
she found love letters. in the letters

little words of cedar ink and salt water. in the
words little curves shy and yellow.

in the curves she found a shoreline. in the
shoreline she found a sand castle.

on the castle there was a door. through the door,
to the right was a hall.

the first door on the left was the bathroom. in the
second door an empty bedroom.

in the bedroom a closet. in the closet, she found
her mother searching for her mother's shoes.

Comments (3)

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annette said:

love this, the meandering way of it, how it comes full circle -- delightful!

November 08, 2007 | url

Gill said:

beautiful poem that takes us on a memory-journey full of delicate twists and turns. A secret garden behind the closet door.

November 08, 2007

courtney said:

thanks annette & gill!

November 15, 2007

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