Evelyn’s Porch

Evelyn wore turquoise on the night they took her away
And even her ceramic dog seemed to shed a tear
When the car drove off and the candles were lit

The tangerine marshmallows that she roasted
On her front porch last summer
Still sat in her cupboard where I would find them
Fastened tight with a blue clothespin
But filled with ants that had managed
To work their way in through the one small hole
On the bottom of the bag

We loved Evelyn and her strange wolf like laugh
We loved her for her bowlegged stance
And piercing blue eyes
That screamed: “Don’t mess with me or I’ll cut your balls off”
Her sardonic outlook on yesterday’s news
And refusal to conjecture on any future events
She stood her ground and made you retreat
Out of respect more than fear
Out of a desire to acquiesce rather than provoke

Everyone knew where she lived and even strangers
Would come by and give their regards
As if Evelyn was a dignitary of regal descent
A retinue of friends would sit deep into the night
On her porch drinking Thunderbird mixed in lemonade
Bathed in a deep purple neon light
From a sign on her wall that said, “Home”

There I sat too with friends and
Strangers who wandered by
Smoking cigars so that all you saw
Was the orange glow in their faces
That at times looked more like
Cyclopean fantasies of youth
Than people who were just sitting for awhile
Listening to Evelyn opine about biscuits
Or her sore ankles and back

We brought her flowers and helped her cut her grass
Pruned her bushes and painted over her porch
Each spring
Replaced the rotted wood
Patched the screening
Giving it a quilt like look
Though from a distance
You would never know

Evelyn got old on that porch
As we all did

My brother’s harp could still be heard
After the car that took Evelyn
Vanished round the one turn in our road
That led from our cluster of homes

When night descended again
We drank another round of Thunderbird
And one stranger leaned forwards
Blowing a cloud of smoke
That slowly rose towards the
Neon light
Blurring out the blinking word, “Home”
For just an instance-
Then we let the silence
Fill us all.