POEM A DAY – April 26

THANK YOU! THANK YOU to everyone who’s pre-ordered a copy of We The Mourners! Yahoo! I’m working hard on marketing and launch details…and a small tour! More to come!

Ella’s Dresser

Ella lived with her mother, father and brother
across the street from my Nonni
her brother was younger by years
a toddler speaking only in hungarian
her father I never saw but was afraid of
and her mother worked at a bank which
leads me to the dresser
Ella’s family had a dresser in the dining room
it was dark wood solid and sturdy
the drawers didn’t stick when she pulled them open

The top drawer was filled with blank bank forms
withdrawals in soft blue
deposits in soft yellows 
forms with triplicates for new accounts
that middle piece in soft black that
left ink in the swirls of our fingertips
like elevations contours on maps
pens, erasers, staplers, staples
I’d never seen anything like it

We played ‘Bank’ filling in the forms
with our bulbous grade-two cursive
numbers in amounts we thought
outrageous: withdrawal $27.59, $32.16
deposit $12.34, $50.00

Ella had a long, pointy nose and very straight
front teeth her thin reddish hair was short 
straight bangs barely covering her ample forehead
she was stunning and when she spoke in Hungarian
with her mother I felt a devotion for her that was
part awe, part fear, part I-didn’t-deserve-her
it didn’t occur to me to wonder if they were 
talking about me in some detrimental way
I assumed they spoke of food and re-filling the 
form drawer after our intensive play

When she moved away suddenly
I felt betrayed first, then sad then
curious: what happened to all those
blank forms? 

I have a dresser in my office
filled with paper and pens and oracle cards
I googled Ella, searched for her on Facebook
Instagram…I couldn’t find her