17.08.03 - 6:24 p.m.

dorothy asks her dead mother for parking spots -
says in times of dire need it never fails
and i, like my mother, ask my dead grandmother
to stand guard over unattended pots, ward off their boiling over.
we are two superstitious women thirty years apart
relaxing in our cars, letting steering wheels
be led to the least likely rows, and standing
over stoves eyes on popcorn ceilings saying
nona, watch my pasta; i have to pee.