Columbia, Mo

Does the house on Ross St remember me?

The little girl with two skinned knees?

The little girl who left her hand prints

On her sooty bedroom wall?

Does the stucco house with a screened in porch

Remember my pet turtle Winchester?

 My polliwogs that morphed into frogs?

The stairs where I would sneak along the banister

Not letting the stairs creak

And I would spy on Mom’s bridge party—

“She always wears her hair the same way” she said

And all the ladies laughed.

Does the house remember my Dad

Who gave me a puppy to love?

I named her Penny because she had

A coat the color of a new penny.

She had long ears and big brown eyes—

A cocker spaniel with a pedigree..