Nani would peel off her apron,
loop a black cotton head scarf
over her tight gray coronet of braids,
tie it at the nape, and set off manfully
in her black shoes, with Lin & me
scampering behind, to Bergenline Avenue,
Italian mecca of commerce for old women
who made serious business of supper.
–excerpt from “Carpal Tunnel Chicken” in Jumping Off the Train by Donna Pucciani (Blue Forge Press 2007).
Donna Pucciani, Poet 