~ Originally published in the March 2024 issue of The Argyle Literary Magazine; Photo by Iryna Limborska on Unsplash

cavalier women chase

a powder-blue hat

down a windy thoroughfare

*

they balance Easter eggs

on upturned teacups

under a globular sun,

*

left hands stroking

the unruffled feathers

of a great horned owl

*

while a circle

of Slovakian tourists

marvel at their feats

*

of dexterity

and fierce bravado—

each is wearing high heels

*

after all, mounted

on roller skates,

ankles cloaked

*

in cashmere stockings,

their delicate earlobes

dripping in malachite

~ a fascinating ‘nother look at an old classic

Photo by Jeffrey Hamilton on Unsplash

I’m reading a 10th grade book assignment,

one I’d merely skimmed at the time

*

it’s overwhelming what they’d endured

the hardships, the struggles, the isolation

*

they believed in, they trusted the promise

of this new Canaan, this soil-rich land

*

but, now, look where we’ve come

just look at what’s become of us

he practices his form in the living room

tall windows peer out across the fairway

a slight breeze ripples through the locust leaves

my husband’s silhouette against a spring sky