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Walking Our Way

By Teresa McLamb Blackmon

PROMPT—Privilege ...

She walked to our house as if on a track

that guided her and kept her straight to work

in our home, in our kitchen, at our ironing board.


She slipped in the door and did her job quietly.

If she felt she didn’t belong there, she was wrong.

She was so loved by


three people and a puppy whose habits

she knew: Daddy’s dirty brogans left at the door,

the puppy’s shredded toys, my clothes-covered


closet. She became my mother.

She was the one who doctored

my skinned knees and let me lick the spoon


after the chocolate pies she made. She prepared

our meals but never sat at the table with us.

It torments me now.


I want to go to her house, eat with her

at her table. I want to bake a pie for her, cut a slice,

top it with ice cream, and watch her taste

the memories of our time together.

 

Teresa McLamb Blackmon is a retired English teacher who lives in rural North Carolina. Her first poetry book comes out in August, 2020.   


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