Fresh Peach Pie - April 3 2023

 

Fresh Peach Pie

April 3 2023

My mother liked to stop

at roadside stands

for sweet corn and fresh peach pie,

buy kitschy little things

in Podunk towns

to remember by.

She took delight

in keepsakes and souvenirs,

”antiques”

that were no such thing.

Loved small talk and fireworks,

sent postcards

to distant friends

just to say hi.

While dad clenched the wheel

staring straight ahead.

He did not believe

in whimsy

or serendipity,

but destinations

and making time.

An itinerary

you stuck with,

a good price for gas.

While we were crammed into the back

on summer vacation,

before air conditioning

and jousting for space.

Me, the youngest of three

sulking in the middle,

hot vinyl

that didn't breathe

clammy with sweat.

So how fitting

that she outlasted him,

all in good time time

instead of his rush.

But now, all that stuff

in their cluttered apartment,

the many mementos

to remember by.

We need to do something with

now that she's gone.