Sherri Winston

Today’s poem is a homage to a Nikki Giovanni’s poem, “Knoxville, Tenn., ” which was one of her most popular, about life growing up. Here’s my version. Enjoy!

Day Six

a little town in Michigan


held together by lakes,
our town shimmers in summer
and daddy stands on granddaddy’s
back porch
steam from the grill
blowin’ in his face, his eyes never watering,
and I’m running around with
watermelon smiles
corn cob teeth
and my brothers are riding bikes
and my grandmother, she a trip,
always watching and waiting
with Band-Aids and full
of fussing but good
with dessert like banana pudding
and today might be Eighty degrees,
hot day for Michigan,
and we kick a ball up and down the block
and my grandfather gives daddy 
his two cents, “Don’t burn the meat,”
but daddy sips an amber juice in a bottle
with no name and only bobs his head,
then Mommy and Uncle Mac arrive,
and she’s carrying trays of deviled eggs, 
pristine white with buttery yellow
curlicues and Paprika freckles, and
don’t forget the music blasting from 
tiny radios or Grandma’s stories playing 
on the tv in 
the front room.

It’s that kind of day,
a summer day, 
in a little Michigan town.