2010

By MARY ANNE REESE

That year, I passed
the mansion in Westmoreland
where ties and diamond
bracelets shackled
the family to a table
arrayed in gold.
That year, I drove
out Chapman Highway
past dollar stores and signs
that promised debt relief.
Kudzu vines strangled
the hills. That year, I stopped
for gas and bought a corndog
warming on the grill.
That year, I ate Christmas
dinner at the wheel.

Mary Anne Reese is a Cincinnati attorney with a graduate degree in English from Northern Kentucky University. Her poetry chapbook, Raised by Water, was published by Finishing Line Press.