Deep Roots

"Circumstances have made me, I have not made them."
                                                        --A. Lincoln

Looking in the mirror I search-
Where is the little girl who desperately wished to be a boy?
    Wore boys' pajamas and banana curls
    Longed for freedom of pants, wrestling, high-top Keds
    Guarded her heart with attitude

Staring long enough through faded blue,
Blurry outlines appear
    Giggles and whispers of the past push forward
    Dancing dreams of childhood tug out memories stored in dusty, molding drawers
    Spilling across my mind while I attempt to straighten the clutter

Warm, wiggling bird pups tempting me to dare the warning growls of Kate and Rusty
    Mother cooing, "My little lambs"
"I'll paddle your canoe" and "Wash your paws"
    Her soft smiles, tired eyes
Lessons around a table spread with cornbread, vegetables and iced tea-
              "Lie not lay"
      "No elbows on the table!"
Sunday School, Training Union, Prayer Meetings and Revivals
    Sweat bees and sitting up straight in church
Going early to fold bulletins with Daddy
Helping Walter pull the rope
    His calloused hands covered mine
        Weathered gloves strengthening my grip
             As my toes left earth
                Lifted heavenward by the church bell's singing weight
Ponies, endless fields, quail calling from patches of weeds near our backyard
   Daddy's enthusiasm, Mother's gentle strength
    "Whoooeee!  Smell that Boone County air!"
Black and white TV, The Big Show, Biscuit Eater, and Elvis
    Pretending to cry with my sisters
    Spilling tears on my face from the Coke bottle corked to sprinkle clothes
Switches and hugs, tobacco suckers and worms
    Called meetings of boys and girls sneaking through old neighbors' backyards
    Toward watermelon patches and gardens red-ripe with tomatoes
Wandering down dusty dirt paths that each summer lured me further from home
    Yet always led back to our front door
 

Ann
Ohio Co. Middle School

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