Opening the Lines of Communication

This is where . . . we do art, I learned from family how to be funny, I trusted her, I finally found peace, I practice serenity, We buy our favorite bagels, We dance, I feel my mother, She said yes! The undead rat was born, I got sober at Club 24, I found a kitten—meow! You smoke, I breathe freely with the water, The sound of Danny’s flute used to catch my soul like flypaper, I make history, People gathered to talk about the future, Got the jungle where I feel safe, My father’s name is listed as a person who served in WWII, My life ended, A sound of violin is heard, I avoid to go, My high friend broke into an apartment for cash—and found a dead guy, We stood to hold signs, My cats take care of me, Love lives, My heart was, My aunt and uncle worked to keep CH an integrated community, I partied like a rock star at the Slaughter house, I deliver Meals-on-Wheels, I was struck by lighting across the street from my house, I make a new beginning and look into the beauty of NOW! I picked my daughter up from school and tried to explain 9-11, I have my lair, I eat ice cream, I first felt at home, I fell flat on my belly in the middle of the road—like Buster Keaton in the middle of traffic, I climbed a tree and got stuck, I grew up a screw up, I sing out loud in my car, There is a maple tree that reminds me of sherbet, We swoop across the floor, I try not to see, Cain Park lives and breathes in a city in need of more trees & fewer cars, This iz where I shot 8 dices, and rolled 1,988 7’s, I cry at movies, I feel lonely, I go to watch the sunset over the lake, I used to live in my favorite house with a pig stone wall around it, My grandmother attended my sister’s wedding wearing a fur stole but no teeth, I became a Joy Spreader, I get inspired, Where we go for comfort & security, Officer West was killed, I first experienced freedom, I STOP! and love myself—no more abuse, I had too much Grey Goose! yumme, I look out my window as I re-create my life, My father shot himself to death, My dog waits, I had a mushroom that grew in my bathtub, The street curves and the houses are large with sloping yards, The first kiss I care to remember, My children made friends with each book they read, We saw the double rainbow, We shooted roots, We buried our pet, I learned my mother died, 3 black cats played, We played drums and sang songs at the lower Shaker Lake, I got arrested, I hear music, I go when I need to cry, Many of my neighbors have become friends, I planted the Jubilee Garden, My little sister was born, I saw a UFO in the summer of 1975 at Shaker Lake, We made a time capsule when renovating a room: glass jar—pix of house and family—letter from me, I wrote a poem, I stop by my favorite little wooden door, The hottest guy I ever dated lived, We made out after our first date in 1976, My son and two cats laugh and live, I was so happy hanging my clothes on the clothesline, I grew up and learned that their addictions didn’t have to be mine, My childhood memories exist, I live and dream, I raise[d] my son on my own, I got punched in the nose in the second grade, I lived from 8 to 18—Now I’m 50 but whenever I drive by—I think: who’s upstairs in my room—the light’s on, I live under the canopy—I nursed my daughter, the nightmare ended, kids are hanging out and are in gangs, I feel overwhelmed held in the world, He called out her name, My car stopped, Healing and wholeness occurred, I got both pizza and a ticket at 3 a.m., My education started—kids are wonderful teachers, She first lived, I taught persons who are blind to cross traffic light intersections for 32 years, I got my first kiss, My grandma lives—My dad grew up—My uncle’s ashes were spread—My brother got attacked by poodles—We always ate Jello—and had fake money, The nightmare started, Our hearts became one, An old lady fell down, I saw the Wizard of Oz, I feel imaginative . . . Mary Weems 08