� Elizabeth Larrabee
When I went to the grocery store
to buy bread for a nickel
or to dig into the Hermit Cookie bin
for a half a pound,
Mama was never afraid
the bogey-man would steal me.
Never thought
About bad things happening.
After school, I ran into the kitchen,
said "hi" and ran right out
with a cookie in my hand,
glad inside that Mama was home.
At five o'clock
up and down Bartlett Street
mothers in percale aprons
stuck their unbleached heads
out of doorways and windows:
"Mil...DRED!"
"Grace, where ARE YOU?"
"Time for supper."
We'd stop playing jump rope
or marbles and come running.
It was different then.
Was it just knowing
Mama was home?
� Elizabeth Larrabee
Earliest Recall | Lady Slippers | How Poor Were We? | Free Food
The Smaller The Bigger | Mud Flats | Speaking of Smells | Random Pieces
Growing Up the Hard Way �| No Bogey Man | Green Apples | Poor Buster
Up and Down | True Friends | Moving | Rosie's Hangout | Crystal Ball
You weren't so Hot After All | Haunts | On Acting the Way You Feel | Amen
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E-Mail Liz Larrabee