JULIA
She speaks as always without preamble
As soon as I lift the phone:
You are watching the MacNeil Lehrer Hour?
The Polish inflection is strong.
Yes, of course, I would not miss it.
I’m very proud of your son
I answer, but she has already hung up
And hurried back to observe
What else our Congressman will say:
He is rejecting Contra aid.
That morning we argued about his views
While correcting voter lists.
She’d brought the boy to this country
And put him to work tending cows.
Small and talkative as a wren,
She hustled around the office,
Warning me never to trust the Russians
Who imprisoned her and myriad
Others. She sends clothes and food
As she helps the homeless here.
Still she understands that I,
A nuclear freeze advocate,
Primarily dread the holocaust
Star wars would generate.
She makes me chopped liver sandwiches
And gives me good advice.
I bring her cranberry relish.
We share so little and so much.
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