Shari Diane Willadson

Passing Out the Olives

When he came back from the war,
mother gave him five minutes
before dinner each night
to pass out the olives.

"Frank Heeley, Michael Henry."

We memorized the black or green
names he placed on our plates,
baby sang them as she stuck
the fruits on her fingers.

"Delores Hettner, Tony "Rock" Hudsen."

He switched to cherries when I threw
up the olives and didn't listen
when I told him it wasn't the olives;
it was the names, all the names.

"Joseph Hybel, Martin Ingall."

Shari Diane Willadson has been writing for over twenty years.She has been published in The Astrophysicist's Tango Partner Speaks, Moonshade Magazine, Poetry Cafe, and Poetry Magazine. She lives in Washington State, USA with her husband and daughter.