Susan H. Evans' poem "The Italian Story"
“I teach English at a community college and live in Baltimore. I am published in The Mocking Owl Roost , Rising Phoenix Review , Daily Inspired Life Magazine , and Metapsychosis Journal . “ The Italian Story “Zucchero!” the white-haired donna flutes, learning on a cane, while upstairs, my travel deodorant crumbles like old feta cheese. Scout shrugs, smashes her blond hair under red cap. Starred, she is, and former Knight Templar and World Bank orator, although her left nostril flakes awful; while Jackie-O Kim drones nasally, hair clipped back, black eyes snapping. Says, “You’re so rude.” Visits her avatar in Wales, and somewhere in Michigan, her Greek family froze America’s first apple pies. But upstairs, bay leaves brown in a baggie, and an umber-striped altar stone balances on my dresser. Downstairs, though, the ominous rumble of a mini-washer tucked beside a toilet ruminates on my clothes, clasped in its cheese grater cage, while -- mean as a pit bull chained in a thunderstor...