I am…

1965 – Duncan, Oklahoma

knitted from the fiber of my parents,

Irish green and French blue

with a bead of Creek red

woven into a field of anthropology.

tired of walking uphill both ways

since the road always rises to meet you,

while searching for the rich man

as easy to catch as a poor man.

sweet as tea and sour as pickles,

toffee brittle and pudding smooth.

a tie-dyed Volkswagen filled with gas,

running in circles on flat tires.

a hummingbird searching

mailboxes in front of skeleton

houses, boards dripping honey,

and bent, metal whistles.

stickers and milkweed topped

with dandelion and black-eyed Susan,

a bridal bouquet for Chatty Cathy

in a house lit by lightening-bugs.

under the bed, hunting jewels

handed down for dressing up

in tap shoes and Chanel #5

drenching a stuffed puppy’s ears.

big sis taunting little sis –

a mile high reach,

know-it-all answers, and

tap dancing attitude.

— Terri Lynn Cummings