Cheri Amey - poem


El Dorado County Jail

the young woman carries her baby
into the waiting room of the jail her
slim figure in tight jeans
a blouse cut low
just barely covering up her breasts the
baby small for her age, bright eyes, smiles, lots
of curly black hair
her father must have given these to her I
wonder what he looks like
and how old
the hard plastic chair beneath me
torn phone books
on the floor my
first time here so I keep
my eyes open
learning visiting procedures follow
the blue, orange or green line stuff
your belongings in a locker &
wait & wait
it's busy this Saturday
visiting hours
at the El Dorado County Jail I
know some of the people
they are
embarrassed to see me here
I imagine them
imagining who it is that I will visit
& why
no one likes the wait some
leave impatient
I won't, I want to see my son
who after all has been waiting
for me
to visit
my son's name is called &
my line is blue
& then it's just like
in the movies
a sheet of glass between us and two phones
I concentrate on looking at him when I talk
he looks good and seems cheerful says
only one more week to go he's
been busy
putting his art-work on stationery and envelopes
for extra food from the commissary
said the food
is basic
but it's not so bad here
he wrote a poem and drew a picture
for his girlfriend we
talked about collaborating on a book he's
nineteen
this should make me sad
instead
I'm hopeful
I see the growing up he's doing, he told me
"Patience is a virtue,like you always said, Mom, my
drawing is getting better
I pay more attention to the details I
love you,

thank you
for
the visit."

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