Ma and Pa
were out
shopping,
leaving me alone,
with my brothers,
James and Robert,
which were
being pesky
like little flies
darting everywhere,
just to annoy me.
I lay in my bed,
staring,
at the birds,
tweeting,
at the grass,
blowing,
at the winter wheat,
slowly,
growing back.
It was a good day,
the best one,
since the dust hit,
yesterday.
Or so I
thought.
Dust,
storming,
brewing,
racing towards me.
I place my
hands,
over
my eyes,
and rub them,
to make sure I wasn't
seeing things.
I open my eyes,
and see dust,
dust,
just a tremendous
cloud,
running towards me,
racing towards me,
a roaring lion,
of dust.
James and Robert,
stop being flies,
and run to find me,
yelling, "Mae! It's happening!"
I scamper,
out of my bed,
run
into the kitchen,
to the cupboard,
where the things to protect the house from dust
lay.
I pull everything out,
while
my brothers pester me,
about what will happen.
Thinking,
pestering myself
on what to do.
I wait for the memory,
of Ma and Pa,
preparing for the dust,
and I miss them,
and I keep thinking,
and wondering,
feeling frightful,
until,
it comes to me.
Quickly,
I shove
sacks under the doors,
and,
dampen sheets
to throw over windows,
and,
hand spare handkerchiefs to my brothers
to tie on.
Dust roars,
but we are safe,
mostly,
shielded from the world,
we are
outsiders,
facing the truth,
of our world,
our howling,
storming,
overwhelming,
brewing,
world.
March 1935
