Preservative Woman

quietuntil she remembered you
then her eyes
looking off to the side
her voice would slip
out sideways
sliding to her tv
where glow-in-the-dark
plastic hands prayed to jesus
all night long
her wire wrapped stories
would spill pink-tongued
from her mouth
full of indentured servitude
her arms fluttering too fast
for her worn cotton house dress
imprinted with
an almost memory
of ripe cherries
and mildewed newspapers
while she worried worried
that she smelled
to high heaven
washing her hands again again
hot water running over
such secret stories
told between the petals
of her painted flowers

when i was five
she collected prints
children and
dogs and kitty cats
all with empty eyes
brimming with tears
and she wept
when my daddy said grace
at thanksgiving
her coat hanger shoulders
shaking shaking
shaking
rhinestones flashing
in the frames of her glasses
oh
the lime jello day
she died
nothing more
nothing less
why didn’t i tell youone day
i too
will feed
invisible cats
and fill notebooks
with the names
of people
i love

(Written for CombatWords on July 22, 2011)

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