The Literary Review
There, there
“There, there”
They comfort their mother
There, she finds their father’s body
They’re three separate women, little comfort from together
Their lives stopped, their grief belongs to others.
There, there, they mumble to their mother.
“Take the Christmas tree away from there,”
she gestures. “There, those, gifts. Give them away.”
There is little money left,
the youngest moves away, far from home
the eldest stays closer to their mother for some time
but the mother remains in the old neighborhood,
willows in aloneness,
there, in her home,
years later still dressed in black
their mother misses their father beside her,
still prays.
- Margaret R. Sáraco
Still Life
On the bright green countertop
three porcelain plates,
filled with Jersey tomatoes, navel oranges,
red bell peppers, bananas, and plums,
avoid fleshy skin bruises and await their fate.
Farm-to-table, grocery to-counter,
organic and conventional,
which will last the week?
Time to slice, mash, poach and peel,
sauté wrinkled peppers and onions,
simmer spotted tomato gravy,
blend speckled bananas into smoothies
juice softened oranges,
bake pinpricked, pitted, purple-plum tortes.
Who scrutinizes my outer edges
determining whether I am useful or spoiled?
When I am bruised and old, what will be salvaged?
On the green countertop three porcelain plates
filled with tomatoes, oranges, peppers,
bananas and purple plums, wait to be used or discarded.
- Margaret R. Sáraco
The Laws We Live By—You Be the Judge
They say that in Alaska it is illegal to push a live moose
out of a moving airplane.
In New Jersey there is a town that prohibits planting shade trees
along highways or alleys if they obscure the air.
In Vermont clotheslines have a special provision
preventing anyone in the future from outlawing them.
In Arkansas there is a correct way to pronounce
the name of the state for oral official proceedings.
In Alabama it is illegal to drive while blindfolded
and in Quitman, Georgia chickens are not allowed to cross the road.
The last two are questionable and have me scratching my head.
But in Washington the Undiscovered Species Protection Act of 1969
makes it illegal to harass or hurt Sasquatch. Really?
Humans seem to require definition, parameters, restrictions
though it doesn’t stop misbehavior.
Years ago, some clever middle school students added vodka
to orange juice bottles sipping cocktails during the school day.
After that, they had to open them in front of teachers
who listened for the snap of the bottle cap.
Students argue how obscure these rules are with me. I explain,
“Someone did something wrong more than once and got caught.”
Does that explain this Florida law, or urban legend, no longer on the books?
If you park your elephant, you must feed the meter.
Well, Sarasota is the home of Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus,
perhaps there was some truth to that one.
- Margaret R. Sáraco
Morning Glimpse
I mistake you for a woman in her twenties
sporting multi-colored leggings
that no one in town wears unless
they are going to a movement class
you pass me while I sit in my car
engine running, heat on
chilled from swimming
you smile and I smile back
as you walk away
I glance briefly
and see a fifty-year-old woman
in good shape
the wrinkles confirm your true age
I dare not look in the mirror
and see me
from your perspective
instead, I shift into gear
put my blinker on and drive
instead of turning right today
I turn left and feel good about it.
- Margaret R. Sáraco