The Snobby Woman Pretends Not to See Me
and sweeps her nose to the sky
and sniffs moon dust
and yoyos her eyelids like a freak show act
and then looks away
and I once had a doll with blinking eyes like that
and her face and arms and legs were porcelain
and I named her Suzie
and my grandparents kept her in the sewing room
and that room was a garage before they added on to the house
and I thought that room was haunted
and when I visited, I hurry! hurried in and out
and Suzy’s chubby legs clanked together as I carried her around
and the silence didn’t seem so bad
and her body was cloth with stains from my mother
and when my visit ended, Suzy stayed on shelf,
and the haunted room taunted me
and next summer Suzy’s face was cracked
and her eyes didn’t blink anymore
and I know this woman is just like all the rest of them
and I see fake dolls in the grocery store, snobby women like her
and I remember Suzie long gone, but still loved
and I’m glad she was real
Laurie Kolp poems have appeared in the 2015 Poet’s Market, The Crafty Poet, Scissors & Spackle, Blue Fifth Review, Pirene’s Fountain. An avid runner and lover of nature, Laurie lives in Texas with her husband, three children and two dogs.