Rae Spencer’s most recent poem to appear here was After the Birthday, published as part of Contributor Series 11: On Birthdays in June 2012.
The Road
By Rae Spencer
She scrimped and saved for the cottage
Premium roadside property
And that front window
Shone with gold reflection
All day on sunny days
A shade less in the rain
Across the road, trees
Gave their apples kindly
If she curtsied
And asked in humble tones
Mostly she watched the travelers
How they reveled and danced
Their songs lifted her heart
Lifted her lips at the corner
Lifted her eyes and chin
So she stayed young
In her cottage, which was enough
More than enough–until
At first, a neighbor’s child
The girl skipped across for an apple
The next day her shoes sparkled
And the following, she departed
They whispered about it
Until the girl’s mother left, too
Everyone felted their soles
Or swore off apples
She shuttered her window
Covered her ears at night
Cried when friend after friend
Waltzed away in search
In search of what? Nothing
She wanted or needed, more than
The cottage she owned
Having scrimped and saved
For a front window view
Of the yellow brick road