The Pinafore Pink Or Blue

the pinafore pink or blue
light green, lemon yellow,
hung up on pegs

one for each school day
plus Saturday, Sunday.
another one, violet sprigged,

calico navy, the rose threaded one, with gold.
gravy on the potatoes in the picture book.
perfect gravy. are you sure?

the kind you never made in school.
spiced apple rings jarred on
the window sill like stars

all crimson there set
shimmering.
this is your picture perfect little house

and glimmering

with its lion's share of little golden books!
the complete series? someone inquired.
that must be a dream

you feel instictively
complete with pastel rocking chairs on a lemonade porch
your size, and hammocks the colours of Prang;

stretched between April trees
bordered with surprises
picked out at the five and dime.

and instant parties pink and cream
where the ice cream never melts;
the coconut cake survives the scene

and the cherry on top while
the raspberry fizz keeps fizzing.

in real life despite the raspberry shrubs,
something was always missing.

mary angela douglas 8 march 2016