when her family moved away
from the hard luck house
next door, we started out
as penpals, until I criticized
her goofy, loopy letters illustrated
with cartoons and demanded that
she write me properly or
not at all – that was that,
and I’ve struggled with my
correspondence karma ever since

one little bustling nun, two
early realizations: first, surprised that
anyone would actually CHOOSE such
an ugly name (first syllable
that actually rhymed with PIG!);
and second, disappointed to learn
that this third grader’s teacher
was really not that good
at her arithmetic, and honestly
sought answers from her students

danger – dragon lady, nothing meaner
than this manager in high heels –
meeting after meeting, flames
flickered from her painted smile,
our solutions scorched to uselessness;
finally growing thicker skins, we
project newbies started to excel
at flattery, to which she
was susceptible, and talked about
her “gams” behind her back

guardian on high alert, energized
against all threats that might
arrive from outside the perimeter
of her universal heart – what
about insurgencies nurtured from within,
her precious treasures wanting to
live dangerously? our wind in
the willows team, she hedgehog
bristling with imperative quills, me
mole braingrubbing in the dirt

resolutely single, raised her daughter
working for the IRS; upon
retirement, lived oceanside and traveled
all around the world with
Thelma, buying cheesy gifts for
everyone at home; difficult at
times, bad driver, not clever,
not domestic, not a cook –
hallowed grandma, game, golden in
her halo and her throne

he had a poetry practice –
collected poems, framed each
on a page like artwork in
a looseleaf gallery; he read
them slowly, his interpretations always
well considered – hint of convalescence,
maybe rehabilitation? something buried
in the way he clicked the
binder open, refiled the poem,
then clicked the binder closed

nurse, boss, range woman –
big sky smile and iron gray
cascading curls, summer trips
to camp in a remote location,
returns with elk meat, tender
served with noodles (sorry, elk,
to mix this metaphor but yes)
her service to her clients
(public health) was also tender
as was her supervision