nellskac

Queens. In secondhand dresses.

The women of Detroit are a regal, scrappy bunch. Anywhere else why would reign as Queens CEO’s Celebrated leaders of parliament– Well-loved by nations via Parades on their birthdays and their faces on Postage stamps. We would see them in our newspapers, Pray for them in church. The potential has been sucker-punched away, though, byContinueContinue reading “Queens. In secondhand dresses.”

Mine pigs

I have two little guinea pigs. One we bought as a replacement for a pet who passed along, in old age. The other was a gift to me, on my birthday. The first thing that happens, when I wake up in the mornings, is that I check my watch or my phone for the time,ContinueContinue reading “Mine pigs”

Friend Poem No. 5

I have a friend Named Tim Whom I met Over a cubicle wall– Me telling him too many stories Me laughing too loud Me making people think HE was the trouble-maker Me “volunteering” him for more, frantic life. I would send him notes Through a crack In the wall. He would send the paper backContinueContinue reading “Friend Poem No. 5”

Friend poem No. 4

I have a friend Named Hanna. One of my oldest friendships, A cousin. On Friday she wore stripes And I said– “Like a raccoon” And she twisted her head like a raccoon, Pranced a dance to the table Her hands pulled Chest-ward Like paws. We went camping in August, Hanna and I. Five days ofContinueContinue reading “Friend poem No. 4”

Friend Poem No. 3

I have a friend Named Julia. She sometimes writes me letters– Snail mail– In cards she has designed herself, Her practiced hand switching from script to CAPS. She writes of saints, Flowers, Love, Friendship. She picks flowers, Sketches heaven, Buys dark chocolate. She cuts her hair short, Announces to her office that They will beContinueContinue reading “Friend Poem No. 3”

Friend Poem No. 2

I have a friend Named Joseph A nation-known legend Brilliant at musical score. Other people tell me this But we rarely speak of it. Sometimes we call each other With good reason, too– Busy, bustling business. Only–he laughs too easily, And then I do, too, And we digress over and Over and over Into storyContinueContinue reading “Friend Poem No. 2”

Friend Poem No. 1

I have a friend Named Noah. A Viking man– Broad and bearded. He is the Ferdinand the Bull of Vikings. His solid shoulders could Plunder villages, His brawny knuckles Break through doors, Carry piglets to the ship, Him unheeding his bleeding cuts. But, He doesn’t. Sometimes he makes his sister Picnics. Her favorite foods InContinueContinue reading “Friend Poem No. 1”

We can’t have the “before”

You can’t go home again. And things will never be the way they were. Those memories will always remain The ones that painfully birthed you Into a new version of life And, standing there, you feel your fingers reach, Almost without calculated thought, Towards that life you had “before,” Elusive, though, because you can’t goContinueContinue reading “We can’t have the “before””

My Super Sister

When we were little, my father had a plastic milk crate of comic books, leftover from his childhood, which were stashed in a sliding cupboard in the dark, old paneling of the basement. Most of the comic books were about Spiderman and Batman and whoever-else-MAN, but, a few were about a dark-haired Amazon named Diana.ContinueContinue reading “My Super Sister”

A toast

Here’s to a summer Like the summer Of the girl I saw A few days back, Making her way downtown (As the song goes). Maybe fourteen years old, She moved slowly down the sidewalk With a friend, both in sandals and yoga pants. They walked with enough determination That I knew there was a destinationContinueContinue reading “A toast”