Aged

Tired wooden backdoor shuts me into my favorite place
while Mom mops the floor – I’m nine forever.
Clover waits to be sorted for that rare four-leafed beauty.
Star, our Black Lab, swishes his tail and
waits to take me for my next ride around the yard.

My sisters await my arrival – ready for our imaginary game.
I, the princess, hide in my own secret place
between the tall prickly bush and the neighbor’s fence
where the dirt, stomped smooth, smells of earthworms.

I look through spiky leaves and red berries
at the dirty mist thrown into the air by the dog.
He runs along the fence bellowing at the cars blurring by
just outside his reach. I hear a call, but make no answer
while I sit on Mom’s missing pressure cooker.