Daughter, fourteen, and every weekday morning soap-scummed strands of long, copper hair gum the drain. Five-minute showers for the rest of us. Mucky water mauls our ankles. Saturday, I forgo yoga to auger the pipe. A satisfying grind for a bustling fixer of fixable things. She wakes late. Mussy. Dragging. Even so, the dog leaps […]
Mary Beth Hines
Mary Beth Hines is the author of Winter at a Summer House (Kelsay, 2021). Her writing is widely published, with recent work appearing, or soon to appear, in Solstice Literary Magazine, South Florida Poetry Journal, Whale Road Review, and elsewhere. Connect with her at Https://www.marybethhines.com
The Wedding Dance
Nana hangs the gold-leaf frame in her kitchen. Lifts me up, and hips me in to see it. What strikes first is reeling, kissing, red— then the bulging bagpipes and a flute. Hats are helmets—black, brown, mostly white, atop pale faces—gossips, lovers, watchers. Elm trees rise and loom over tripping clogs. Scarlet scarves and skirts […]