Contributor Series 10: Silken Rags
The Christmas Pageant
By Jessie Carty
Every year: the same show.
The sixth graders (our seniors)
as Santa and reindeer.
The first graders portrayed
“The Night Before Christmas.”
I was the littlest stocking.
In my pink footie pajamas, I stood
last in line by height next to the red
and white painted cardboard mantle.
I was the smallest first grader
as would be my sister two years later
and my others sister five years after that.
We probably wore the same PJs
just as there are photos of us
each wearing the same
dresses in kindergarten.
We each were pegged
in third grade to be the littlest
angel. We should have taken home
the thin white robe and tinsel
covered weak and bending wings
because those roles stayed in our family.
We had a genetic predisposition
for the bit parts.
Jessie Carty’s most recent poem to appear here was Thelma, published as part of Contributor Series 7: The Confessional Diary of Bone.
Thrilled to be here again!
Love the memories this invokes
nice piece
Thank you!