Paulette Swartzfager
years of dust
paulette swartzfager
This work is dedicated to my family and friends
in the two cities I call home:
New Orleans and Rochester.
From the book:
Years of dust
My father knew dust--
concrete mixed with river sand
silica
lime
nickel
years of grey
on his face
in his hair
on the dashboard of his Ford
dust on plastic St. Christopher
the silver glove box
the radio that played only static
the shift
the seats
the school books my brother and I held
those silent trips each morning.
We rolled the windows down
let humid winds in
to paint us in his image.
My mother hated our dust
dust that seeped into her days without her permission.
She fought it with bleach and spray wax
watered the grit into St. Augustine lawn
into roses and pink periwinkles
covered furniture in plastic
her hands in white cotton gloves
zippered her blue taffeta dress in clear vinyl
insulated from common khakis.
Each night she prayed for rains and strong scouring winds
to wash it away.
Paulette Swartzfager is a poet, freelance journalist, essayist, and activist originally from New Orleans, who moved to Rochester NY after Katrina. She is currently a lecturer in the English Department of Rochester Institute of Technology.
years of dust
is a 40 page hand-stitched chapbook - $10.00
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