Blood pressure is low today
she wears bunny rabbit slippers to work
her shoes in a sack
and last night came the call
from her sister in Shenandoah
when she bailed Bud out of jail
he never came back
After eight hours
running the bottle cap machine
five minutes to clean up
before stepping into a dream
about five days in Niagara in 1963
full of ice wine and strawberries
February love frozen as cream
Turning the corner
her daughter with a black eye
and her suitcase
meets her halfway
between dinner and disaster
they have not spoken for years
but this day is different
one of them needs some tenderness
the other starts walking faster
