Is every kitchen sink under a window?

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Washing dinner dishes

in scalding water

i see strong faces

of people i love

flash in car lights

on the window

but i who can remember

what they wore or said

cannot recall my own look

 

i see my reflection

looking back at

me

digging for knives

picking at burnt food

getting lost

in stuck spots

i am surprised i like

my image

i look my age

 

Some days I’m older

some days uglier

but tonight my reflection

is quite good looking

not soft

not pretty

 

dishes bump

muffled liquid sounds

i reach up

pull my skin

toward hairline

remembering

when i looked like that

soft textures

no lines not worn

 

i let go

my flesh falls back

i come home to my time

my place

i am my age

 

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Sharon Mooney, “Is Every Kitchen Sink Under a Window?”, from Women and Aging, an anthology by women, ed. Alexander, Jo, [et al], 1986, CALYX Inc, Corvallis OR, pp.108-9.