Verities
Maybe she had dementia,
the old lady in the woolen hat,
I don't know, but she
stopped short in the middle of the aisle,
when her son shouted, PUT THAT BACK.
Clutching a small bag of chips -
like a newborn against her chest,
like a prayer,
like something she owned -
her face collapsed,
Please, but no sound came except,
PUT IT BACK! NOW! PUT IT BACK!
This was Christmas Eve, not that it matters;
Why even embellish a story like that.
I can only tell you I walked behind her
as she walked behind her son,
until I could no longer watch,
yet there was something about
her lopsided hat, her lowered head
that made me sure
no matter what happened next,
she would not put it back.
-Grace Cavalieri
Used by permission.
Grace Cavalieri is the author of several books of poetry and 23 produced plays. She founded and still produces/hosts public radio's "The Poet and the Poem," in its 34th year, now from the Library of Congress. New Poems: Millie's Sunshine Tiki Villas, 2011. New play: "Anna Nicole: Blonde Ambition" opens 2011.
Cavalieri was a featured poet at Split This Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation & Witness 2008.
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