Dinner At The Gardens Poem by Rebecca Duncan

“Eggs got us through the depression”

“We always had chickens”

“Oh how I hated to milk the cow in cold weather”

I wanted to stay until twilight

To leave lively and untethered and buoyant

Amid the backyard gardens of spearmint and thyme

Of uneven brick paths trimmed with moss

The comfort of an aged stately oak

And a wrap around porch

There’s a trolley that runs on electricity!

Tumbling, turning, straining at the brakes

Taking me passed the printer’s place

Where Gutenberg’s name is uttered reverently, sotto voce

Movable type moves, points point and spaces space

Layouts and gutters

But I dreamed of love so profound

That sweet electric fullness of first love

When I was beautiful and stately in a maroon velvet dress

So I did not hear what could have passed as practical later on

Now, so many years later I can only wonder what I missed

Caught in my mother’s web

Tethered, taut and tired