Thursday, July 10, 2008

An Exciting Past

I asked him why his picture wasn’t
in the family photo album.
He just laughed, his teeth tobacco-
stained and jagged as a broken
storefront window. “They can find my
goddamn picture on the front wall
at the U.S. Postal Office!
I’m a dangerous man, y’know.”

Grandma kept his old love-letters—
Grandpa’s copperplate handwriting,
script as graceful as the ocean—
tucked into a cardboard folder
in a drawer of her bureau
scented with dried lavender.

Actually he’d been a sales clerk
at a store for stationery
fifty years and then retirement—
but I’ll choose to misremember,
see him scowling from a Wanted
poster next to Jesse James.

--for Poefusion

Collection available! Knocking from Inside

3 comments:

poefusion said...

What creativeness. I love where you went with this. I think most families choose to misremember some family details so they can live their lives peaceably. Nice job. Have a nice day.

Gemma Wiseman said...

Love the mix of lavender memories and a wanted poster! Beautifully crafted!

Anonymous said...

you painted an awesome picture of grandpa and grandpa...