New Year’s Eve
Posted: 06 Oct 2019, 03:29
New Year's Eve
Mom, everyone says you look
real good. They say it's your bone
structure. Shirley poofed
your hair like Angie Dickinson.
Your arthritic fingers curl
like the claws on Grandma's
parakeet that morning we found
Petey lying at the bottom of the cage.
Mr. Meyers placed all the rings
on your fingers, even the one
with the fake diamonds set
around the crystal of a tiny clock.
You used to love showing it off.
It's a shock to look at you, lying there,
thinking any minute you’ll get up
like you did at the New Year’s Eve dance.
The MC announced they'd give away
a Tommy Dorsey album to the prettiest
girl there. You didn’t wait, walked
right on stage, said, "Here I am." He
looked at you and handed over the prize.
Mom, everyone says you look
real good. They say it's your bone
structure. Shirley poofed
your hair like Angie Dickinson.
Your arthritic fingers curl
like the claws on Grandma's
parakeet that morning we found
Petey lying at the bottom of the cage.
Mr. Meyers placed all the rings
on your fingers, even the one
with the fake diamonds set
around the crystal of a tiny clock.
You used to love showing it off.
It's a shock to look at you, lying there,
thinking any minute you’ll get up
like you did at the New Year’s Eve dance.
The MC announced they'd give away
a Tommy Dorsey album to the prettiest
girl there. You didn’t wait, walked
right on stage, said, "Here I am." He
looked at you and handed over the prize.