TO MY MOTHER IN LIEU OF EMERALDS

 

TO MY MOTHER IN LIEU OF EMERALDS

For Mary Adalyn Young Douglas, of blessed memory

Twirling and whirling

Out of a summer saffron sky

Dorothy’s hurricane

Passes me by

That close to the Emerald City

In my prairie reverie

My mother comes to me

Dressed in a gown like Glinda’s

And with a real magic wand

And makes me dream again

All the once upons

And I wake up and say

Oh Mama

Can we have cornbread today

In memory of the stories you wrote

About cornbread corners

And we will laugh gaily and spoon on loads

Of strawberries and what not on the corn bread

And revel in literary bon mots

That we make up like leopards with spots

Just for entertainment’s and making it rhyme’s sake

And to say we both came originally

My dears

From the exact same Tea Party.

Dressed in pink linen.

mary angela douglas 12 may 2024