Yesterday
Yesterday
Yesterday my daughter and I walked through the mall
As they began to close shop, lock doors, turn off the lights.
She had gotten a haircut followed by a long dinner
Served by a Native American woman with a thick waist,
Who probably dreamed of bigger things once upon a time.
A black baby screamed at her white mother
From an adjacent table which her four year old boy
Had made into a jungle gym complete with
Flying bread and a rocky lemonade waterfall,
None of which disturbed the young Latino couple
Trying to form some eternal bond in a corner booth
Over shared ice cream and awkward smiles -
All under the shadow of a moose head mounted on the wall.
In the jewelry store a tight lipped white woman cleaned the glass cases,
Wiping the fingerprints of young dreamers away.
In the nail salon a small Asian employee soaked her feet
Laying back in the large leather chair, eyes closed,
Oblivious to the man who swept the floor beside her.
In children’s clothing a teenage girl arranged miniature outfits
For miniature people, hanger after hanger of tiny pink dresses.
Even though she is ten now and too old for the devotion
She once showered upon me until I wanted to shake it off,
She held my hand tightly and bounced along beside me
Like she had before she began to turn into a woman.
An elderly lady smiled as we passed and grasped
The hand of her husband a little tighter, remembering.
February 12, 2014
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