[Critique Group 2] 35-line poem for June 27 critique session

[Alice Massa]

Dear Group Two friends,

I do plan to participate at the June 27 critique session and am 
submitting the following poem of 35 lines. When I wrote this poem for 
posting on my blog on the 26th day of April, I had no idea that my 
cousin (who was like an older brother to me) would pass away 
unexpectedly on May 3 nor that about half of this poem would be heard by 
so many people at the funeral service on May 8.My cousin Donald was the 
younger son of my beloved Aunt Zita.While this poem has significant 
meaning for my family and Indiana friends, I wonder if the poem has 
appeal for a general readership.Also, I selected the poem because of 
this critique session's close proximity to the Fourth of July.

I missed you all last month and look forward to hearing your voices on 
the 27th.

Hoping that all of you are feeling well and creative!

Best always--Alice and Willow

* * *

*Aunt Zita's Checkered Tablecloths*

poem by Alice Jane-Marie Massa

My north-facing kitchen

catches little sunshine,

but catches many memories.

Atop the maple table--

once-upon-a-time my parents' table in Indiana--

is a green-and-white checkered tablecloth

that had lain on one of the smaller tables

at my Aunt Zita's Italian restaurant.

Numerous platters of spaghetti and meat balls

once decorated this tablecloth.

Aroma of my aunt's sauce and Italian veal

still arise from this tablecloth.

Happy conversations echo over

and around this keepsake cloth at every meal.

Starched, ironed, and blessed many times

by Aunt Zita's hard-working hands,

this green-and-white checkered tablecloth

lies softly and casually in my kitchen.

Born in 1908, Aunt Zita--

modern, ahead of her times--

would smile at seeing atop her cloth

a Downton Abbey teapot

on a dinner plate from my mother's china set

and a silver-blue vase filled with pink silk tulips--

because my aunt had a splendid garden of tulips.

As I drink my herbal tea

at this table of memories,

I am nourished by the love and strength

of my beloved aunt and other ancestors.

 From Aunt Zita, I have one other tablecloth--

the red-and-white checkered one,

which is always on my table

for the Fourth of July and Festa Italiana.

Oh, what a time to celebrate

food and family!

** * **

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://bluegrasspals.com/pipermail/group2/attachments/20190620/3a9bff26/attachment-0001.html>