Tell Me More Poetry by Nancy Duci Denofio

Sesquicentennial
Schenectady NY

So - what if Mama wanted
me to run across vacant land
within the gates of
Union College…

Wearing some one hundred
and fifty year old dress – she
made last month…

So - what if I choose the brief
freedom of the shore – grit
between my toes –
sunburned – tired – wanting
more…

Warned if I took the family
trip – I’d be out of talking
on a stage… but still
could wear the old – new
dress…

So - with a bonnet on
my head, and a red and white
checkered dress – I ran across
the vacant land, while fire
works filled the sky…

So - I wondered if women
one hundred and fifty years
ago, wearing bonnets and
long dresses – did they too
have sun burn cheeks?

Nancy Duci Denofio
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