granny


granny's kitchen always
smelled of tea cakes
the little flat golden
sugar cookies she made
like no one else

my cousin wendell was
six months older than i
and we'd have eating contests
at one family reunion i
drank 29 sodas and ate
two pecan pies but wendell
always beat me by a pie
and several sodas

we could eat pounds of
those golden cakes
topped off with a
platter of homemade fudge
and a gallon of ice cream
after coming in from
hoppy and roy at
the park theater

but old granny just
kept rolling the dough
and restocking the cokes
and making the fudge
and smiling like she always did
old faded blue eyes twinkling
like stylized pictures of santa

granny has been gone
20 years now but I still miss her
every day

when passing her house
on paris avenue i almost expect
to see her waving from the swing
on her front porch

her eyes sparkling like
old blue stones
polished by the
river of years

sitting here tonight
minding my
own business
there's a crashing
at the front door

it's crazy doobie
with pictures
of ghosts
he says
handing
them to me
"put them in
the newspaper!"

he's all excited
I knew he'd
been here
hunting me
earlier
today while
i was gone

had the
pictures of ghosts
with him then too

after he left
i looked
at them
under light

a couple of
simple pictures
with a light
leak on
the film
at the same
end of
both frames
same basic
shape

no ghosts these
just a
fucked camera

and it
dawned on me
that if doobie
became parvenu
he would
rush out
buy a
hasselblad
break it
within 2 days
and be making
ghost pictures
with it

that is if
the ufo's that
swarm
his house
didn't get him
first