Miss Evelyn of Carson, California
Inspiration for Unzipped
In my mother's kitchen
beside the pot of hot oil
you tell me stories.
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.
"Excuse me."
"We don't serve you coloreds," they say.
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.
