In this issue
Edited by Deborah Fries
For
more information about
writing workshops offered by
the Cheltenham Township Adult School, contact:
Cheltenham Township Adult School
1414 Panther Road
Wyncote, PA 19095
Phone: 215-887-1720
Gail B. Hicks
two poems
REUNION: Class of 70
Fear and excitement
Permeate the air,
Rented cars, borrowed furs,
Jeweled fingernails.
Tailored skin
Streamlined hips,
Store-bought bosoms,
Puffed -p lips,
Dimpled thighs,
In body socks.
A nip/ and a tuck,
And lipo suck.
REUNION
A history of relationships,
Memories/ good and bad,
Will anyone remember me?
Old images fill my head.
Will everybody mingle?
Or use imaginary divides,
Black/ white/ yellow/ tan,
Letting prejudice be our guide.
REUNION
Rita Jones has 13 gran,
Larry Smith is now Lorraine,
Some couples made it 35 years,
Others rode the divorce train.
Flashback on old dress codes,
No piercing, tattoos, jeans
Now fast forward to today,
Girls dressed like pole dance queens.
REUNION
Heart attacks, strokes, and cancer,
The ravages of time.
Some slipped away from A-I-D,
Gone, before their prime.
Let’s not forget, the fields of NAM,
That claimed Reggie, Greg and Fred,
Now OUR kids march off to war,
To add to the lists of the dead.
REUNION
Heads once wrapped in do-rags,
Now are bald or grey.
Some even ventured to sport a FRO,
Way back in the day.
We thought we were the Panthers,
Idolized Angela and H. Rap Brown,
Clenched fist, black jackets, and berets,
Saw Martin and Malcolm cut down.
REUNION
Some never left the zip code,
Others went far and wide,
The corporate ladder was scaled by some,
Others hitched a free ride.
There were nearly 900 of us,
That left this school decades before,
We’ve lived and died,
Had dreams and cried,
As we continue to open life’s doors,
REUNION: The class of ‘70’
Gail Brown Hicks
is the mother of two adult children and
has been married 30 years. A current resident of the Cedarbrook section of
Philadelphia, she has worked as a social worker for both youth and older
adults since 1980. Her first career was as a journalist and public relation
specialist in the Delaware Valley. Passions include dancing, political
advocacy and American musical theater. Gail also takes on-line courses at
the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.