And The Christmas Star

I wanted to live by the Dairy Queen

an antique bookstore and a movie screen

I wanted to live.

I wanted to work at a candy store

near a perfume counter on a parquet floor

and spend my money all the nickels and dimes

on the things that mattered like classic rhymes.

I wanted to gaze at the moon all night

and let it be the only light in a small house by a little cove.

and when I was old to start again

with a new jump rope and God for a friend

and collect all the marbles in a crystal jar

the sky blue ones and the Christmas Star.

mary angela douglas 22 december 2020