My aunt took my hand and led me
Up the stairs to play Fisher-Price.
The painted, wooden man,
Shaped like a car cigarette lighter,
Drove his little ambulance
From the garage to the bank
And then under the bed.

But below the plastic toy town
Footsteps clattered and clomped
Like the gallop of Dürer’s horsemen.
The ambulance siren outside gibbered,
Alarming the neighbors who watched
As my great grandmother was sealed
In her plastic cocoon and taken away.

Rights & Access

This poem was submitted for the "Poetry for the Mind's Joy" project and is reproduced here with permission from the author. All rights reserved. Poetry for the Mind's Joy is Poet Laureate Kay Ryan's project that includes a community college poetry contest administered by the Community College Humanities Association and a lively videoconference.
  • Tristan Ciceran

    Warren County Community College, Washington, NJ

    Faculty Advisor: BJ Ward, Associate Professor of English