They sent Dad back
in an army green
Ziplock Freezer Bag
the kind Mama
shells sweet peas in
and stocks in the ice box
as a reminder of
sunnier days.
They sent him as
a reminder,
a token of the war
that his 3-month-old child
would spend the rest
of her life
trying to thaw.
There were no scissors
to cut through to
the truth.
They even made sure
he was double sealed
for our protection-
leaving a number
as his only identity.
If Mama had shaken that bag
to spill the truth,
would he have rattled
like those summer sweet peas
shaken from a pod-
would I have heard
Sunday talk
of Kentucky catfish,
Jesus Bugs
and days 'in country'?
--Meg Niemi
Submitted by Jean Davis
