Hidden Garden, Romona Youngquist, 24 X 24, Oil
STILETTOS
Remember the day you started
to first overreach, lifting
yourself on all fours, tugging
at your mom’s dress
to survey the world
on unbalanced feet, rising
on your toes, trying
to reach the cookie jar
on the top shelf, stretching
to clean the blackboard
and to cover yourself
in chalk-dust, puffing
with joy, when Ms. Nancy pinned
a badge of honour on your chest
asking if it pricked, sashaying
among awe-struck friends
attaching imagination to her
words, before understanding
your crush on the long-haired
girl three years your senior
with shared interests, exchanging
books, furtive glances, letting her
ruffle your hair, playfully approving
your coming of age, evolving
beliefs in the concept of soul
mates, notwithstanding the spasmodic
outbursts of paranoid parents.
Remember, then, to put this note away
from your daughter pestering you
to buy her first pair of stilettos.
_____________________
Sreedhar Vinnakota