Miss Evelyn of Carson, California 

Inspiration for Unzipped

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In my mother's kitchen

beside the pot of hot oil

you tell me stories.

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In your black chiffon dress 

you wait to be seated.

You drench the chicken.

 

Your heels grind into the wooden floor                                            and crunch corn flakes.

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"Excuse me."

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                                         "We don't serve you coloreds," they say.

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You think of your mother

bent

losing tears

on a hot iron                                                                                                             oil splatters.

 

You feel her iron inside you

burning open your mouth

to share a story.

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