Julie Hill Alger

LESSON l

.

At least I've learned this much

Life doesn't have to be

All poetry and roses Life

can be bus rides, gritty sidewalks,

electric bills, dishwashing,

chapped lips, dull stubby pencils,

with erasers chewed off,

cheap radios played too loud,

the rank smell of stale coffee,

yet still glow

with the inner fire of an opal,

still taste like honey.