Page 18 - Contrast1978Novemberv22n1
P. 18
Chrestview Square North
45ยข and a transfer please.
Hove to the back.
I swat rumpled papers from a seat
to the floor.
A body shifts,
a dress is tucked aside,
and I take 1t1!:J seat.
The troman squirms and a shoulder presses against .ne.
The shoulder of an old black WOman
in a too tight orange dress,
with stains on the slee~.
There is a smell _
fWDes piped from an alcoholic's lung
caulked with smoke.
It nags at my nostrils as I try to lean away.
I notice the scars along her forearm.
They begin at the elbow and continue down
in two distinct grids.
Hemaw
The Nemaw wi th large whi te eyes and a smile
who used to come twice a Heek.
She always had H s S's for us after school.
we would play tick-tack-toe on Memaw's scar,
and she WOuld laugb real 10ud because it tickled,
and she always ended up coughing.
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