Gingerbread Lady © Michael Lee Johnson Gingerbread lady, no sugar or cinnamon spice; years ago arthritis and senility took their toll. Crippled mind moves in then out, like an old sexual adventure blurred in an imagination of fingertip thoughts. Who remembers the characters? There was George, her lover, near the bridge at the Chicago River: she missed his funeral; her friends were there. She always made feather-light of people dwelling on death, but black and white she remembers well. The past is the present; the present is forgotten. Who remembers Gingerbread Lady? Sometimes lazy-time tea with a twist of lime, sometimes drunken-time screwdriver twist with clarity. She walks in scandals; sometimes she walks in soft night shoes. Her live-in maid smirked as Gingerbread Lady gummed her food, false teeth forgotten in a custom-imprinted cup with water, vinegar, and ginger. The maid died. Gingerbread Lady looks for a new maid. Years ago, arthritis and senility took their toll. Yesterday, a new maid walked into the nursing home. Ginger forgot to rise out of bed; no sugar, or cinnamon toast. __________________________ Michael Lee Johnson is a poet and freelance writer from Itasca, Illinois. His brand new poetry chapbook with pictures From Which Place the Morning Rises and his new photo version of The Lost American: From Exile to Freedom are available at: http://stores.lulu.com/promomanusa . The original version of The Lost American: from Exile to Freedom , can be found at: http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-46091-7 . He has been published in over 22 countries. Email: promomanusa@gmail.com . The author is also editor/publisher of four poetry sites, all open for submission, which can be found at his website: http://poetryman.mysite.com/ . All of his books are now available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=michael+lee+johnson .
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