FicWad

First Picture

The First Picture
Of a dollop of
Peanut butter
On one edge
With a smear of grape jelly
On the other
Plus a big X
Across the whole thing

The First Picture
Was a cut out from a magazine
For homework
“Look for words that begin with W”
Mrs. Evans had said
Who also marked the X
Spoiling my picture

The First picture
I think of my W picture
Inside my backpack
I think of poor washing machine kid
Who cried
The frowning Mrs. Evans
Who told me to sit in the hall
With a timeout T


From the book the Pictures of Hollis Woods