American History Lesson
Having listened to the teacher
having believed words in a book
I was asked to protect, to cover
with a brown grocery sack—look,
I was a girl who did as I was told—
opened the bag out, flattened then folded
it back in a different direction to hold
the book snug. In this way I was molded.
I can still recall the earthy smell, the feel
of the paper, worn but at the same time
crisp, but at the same time soft—how surreal
knowing what I now know of our crimes.
On the cover in proud bubble letters I inscribed:
American History, C. Veach, grade five.
Cindy Veach is the author of three poetry collections: Monster Galaxy (MoonPath Press); Her Kind (CavanKerry Press) a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal; and Gloved Against Blood (CavanKerry Press) a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize and a Massachusetts Center for the Book “Must Read.” Her poems have appeared in the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day, AGNI, Michigan Quarterly Review, North American Review, Poet Lore, and Salamander among others. Recipient of the Philip Booth Poetry Prize and the Samuel Allen Washington Prize, Cindy is poetry co-editor of MER.
Photo credit: Rosanne Olson
