Del

I almost forgot to remember the way

Del painted a toreador, at least that's
what I remember, and I was so surprised
by seeing something entirely different
than anything in my own house,
in the house of my good friend,
as if we were supposed to have exactly
the same tastes in everything,
the same color schemes and furniture!

we would play as little girls
on the short-napped carpet of your room.
Your mother made us snacks, an artist and
a funny woman who never had a bad day,
as far as I could tell -- you're like her
in that way, the perfect match for
Joe as she is for her Tom. They were
the first Yankees I had ever seen,
and so I never minded meeting more,
because they were so friendly. I wish
we hadn't drifted quite so far apart,
different schools allowed to separate.
And now your mother has forgotten,
doesn't realize how fondly she's
remembered by the little girl who
wanted, when she grew up too, to
fill the canvases with color.


(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014