Art of Poetry Catawba Valley's Patricia Deaton emulates the painting by hannah grace that inspired her poem. Poets toured Alexander County Library's FOUND - Art of Community exhibit on Saturday, July 13, 2019. Curated by library board trustee chair, Miranda Burgin, the collection was procured from local and regional artists, photographers. The artworks and poetry will be on display until August 2.
FIRST THINGS, FIRST
by Patricia Deaton
after Not Your Babe by hannah grace
With a flash, that
day comes back.
Eyelids lifted
gently, one at a time
by one small finger;
a small face, close.
Light seeps in-through
a window
full of sky so blue,
you worry;
not about things that
might happen,
but things that might
not.
Her first April
Fools, brown eyes wide,
there is salt in the
sugar bowl.
Spit-cereal with the
first spoonful
then laughter fits;
wonder at the kind of mind
that even came up
with this.
We ate sliced-off
ends of the pan blanco,
bread carefully-made,
though overworked
the night before; her
abuela’s recipe
from a country where
a little means a lot.
At the top of the
school steps
butchered bread held
upright, resolve slipping,
plastic wrap unfurls
itself from the loaf
and flutters like the
flag of a fallen land.
What valor to stand
that first day
and wave the loaf,
then hand it
to someone who swings
open a door.
