Far away from the open market in
the piazza of her home town,
my mother asks for the total cost
of her purchases at the check-out
counter in the A&P.
Three dollars and forty-three cents,
replies the young cashier slowly rounding
each syllable.
Momentarily longing for her other home,
my mother snaps open her little
fabric change purse, looks up and says,
I'm not deaf, I just speak broken English.
-- Gerry Rosella Boccella
Gerry Rosella Boccella lives in Highland Park. She is a poet, educator, designer and arts advocate. Many writers featured in Chapter & Verse are guests of Prosody, produced by Jan Beatty and Ellen Wadey. Prosody airs every Tuesday at 7 p.m. on independent radio, WYEP 91.3 FM.
