By Wanda Morrow Clevenger
we girls learned to sew
and sew well
Mom saw to that
with four years of home-ec
some cooking thrown in
in the bargain
I waited for her to
leave for work
then shortened my dress
by 3 inches
before school
taking it out later
with one long pull
of thread
she almost caught on once
demanded to see my hem
gave it the long hard
Baptist evil eye
I must’ve done well
all she said was
my dress was
too short
Academy of the Heart And Mind 