I wake up and my grandfather's
ghost
Sleeps in the chair beside my bed
When he wakes he will halfway open his eyes
And pretend he is not lost, not angry.
My mother, at 11, felt studying Deanna Durbin
Might teach her to be charming.
This would likely come in handy
If the Prince of Wales came to Patchogue.
(And if he doesn't come? asks Essie.
I'll still be charming, my mother says.)
Sleeps in the chair beside my bed
When he wakes he will halfway open his eyes
And pretend he is not lost, not angry.
My mother, at 11, felt studying Deanna Durbin
Might teach her to be charming.
This would likely come in handy
If the Prince of Wales came to Patchogue.
(And if he doesn't come? asks Essie.
I'll still be charming, my mother says.)
