My earliest memory of politics
is of my vocal mom rooting for Nixon
over Kennedy. At four years old,
I wasn’t interested in black and white
debates or adult talk about Catholics
or The Cold War.
Instead I sat in
the kitchen, on the floor,
beside Petey’s birdcage, listening
to his cheerful chirps and
admiring many shades of blue color.
After the election,
I cringed hearing mom
tell everyone, over and over:
The day Kennedy won, our TV
went kaput, and the parakeet died.
Lylanne Musselman is an award winning poet and artist. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Tipton Poetry Journal, Pank, Umbrella, The Prose-Poem Project, Bird’s Eye reView, and The Rusty Nail among others, and many anthologies. She is the author of three chapbooks: Prickly Beer and Purple Panties (Bacon Tree Press, 2007), A Charm Bracelet For Cruising (Winged City Press, 2009) and Winged Graffiti (Finishing Line Press, 2011). Presently, she teaches writing of all stripes at Terra Community College and is diligently working on a full length poetry memoir. Lylanne lives in Toledo, Ohio, with her three cats: Graham, Tink, and Fiyero.
