In My Mother’s House
every wall
stood at attention
even the air knew
when to hold its breath
the polished floors
looked up
defying heel marks
the plastic slipcovers
crinkled in discomfort
in my mother’s house
the window shades
flapped
against the glare
of the world
the laughter
crawled like roaches
back into the cracks
even the humans sat—
cardboard cut-outs
around the formica
kitchen table
and with silver knives
sliced and swallowed
their words
stood at attention
even the air knew
when to hold its breath
the polished floors
looked up
defying heel marks
the plastic slipcovers
crinkled in discomfort
in my mother’s house
the window shades
flapped
against the glare
of the world
the laughter
crawled like roaches
back into the cracks
even the humans sat—
cardboard cut-outs
around the formica
kitchen table
and with silver knives
sliced and swallowed
their words
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Disclaimer
We do not accept unsolicited submissions. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Reprinted from Poet Lore, Vol 99, No. 1/2 by permission of the author. Copyright © 2005 by Gloria g. Murray, whose latest book of poetry is Five A.M. Anxiety. Introduction copyright © 2024 by The Poetry Foundation.