13 october

you are borrowing a face – a name – didn’t stand close enough to his razor this morning – of course they met at dancing school – that was when they tied the goat behind the hospital for the newborn – that was when they raised chickens in the basement for school and then donated them to the zoo – that was when they sold the house in California and drove cross-country with a bag full of money and lemon tree in the trunk – that was when they gave Dad a roll of quarters when we checked in at the hotel in Reno but kids weren’t allowed on the casino floor and the quarters didn’t come back upstairs with him – that was when all the rest of the family took the train across the country and the soldiers were asking the girls how old they were (that’s for me to know and you to find out) – that was sneaking into a movie theater with the wrong age – a town full of the past with signs foretelling the future: watch for these names – catching up and keeping up and cups of tea that matter – pictures and slides and there we are – who will? she and me and we