Facades
My mother’s mother was Irish
(I never knew her), and I know
we are given to excess
of every kind. But my other side
is Puritan, and what a combination!
My new friend told me she wants
to get over “the way I am,”
though she has never really shown
me how that is. She of the book
I am reading has gone to extremes
to remake herself, she who seems
to the world to be full of joy.
Day to day we repair the mud-dabbed
face of where we dwell, buzz around
too quickly to be caught out.
Honorable Mention, EOL Poetry Contest 2011-2012