Here are some poems based on actual events:

Meeting my Mother-in-Law at the Supermarket

Turning into the cereal aisle
I catch my breath—
In front of me a familiar form seen from behind
The exact stature
Gray hair styled in a narrow flip
My heart pounds with joy—
It’s been so long since I’ve seen her

Then I remember why:
She’s been gone 38 years
A casualty of cancer

The woman turns
She looks nothing like Mom
My shoulders bow

My mother-in-law would be well over 100 years old
If she were still alive

Essence of Lemon

The tree the landscapers planted
already dangled little green lemons,
a tantalizing promise of sweet sour delight,
tempting us to pucker up.

Little by little, green warmed to a yellow glow,
whispering, come and eat,
you know you want to.

Finally, the green disappeared from the fruit’s cheeks,
and pluck them we did,
To slice them into our water glasses
and drink their exotic nectar.
What a treat!

Thar Be Spiders

“Here.” My mother handed me
a 16-ounce tumbler.
“Fill this with raspberries.”

I went outside to the raspberry patch
Behind the garage. I paused at the edge.
Thar be spiders.

But I knew what my mother would do
With the berries.
She’d mash them with sugar and serve them
Over vanilla ice cream.

So I braved the jungle of
Raspberry canes and plucked the fruit
between the thorns, using my elbow to
Bend back the encroaching vines.

Occasionally I felt the whisper of
A daddy-long-legger on my skin.
Yikes!

Poems ©ARHuelsenbeck