Amber Momoh
A Poem for Laminates
Sometimes you just want to write a poem about laminates,
Pink plastic flowers in iridescent porcelain vases
tied with pink bows. I could write a sonnet to our magenta couch,
My single mother talking to her cats while she vacuums the carpet again.
I am eating French vanilla pudding. I am listening to Puccini.
I am making meatballs, squishing raw meat with egg, bread, and celery
Until my eyes grow unfocused and fingers numb.
I am lying on my belly on the floor
watching Mickey Mouse Club while coloring
60 thin markers tucked like good girls into their packaging.
I scream for PeeWee's word of the day the whole weekend.
I could write so many poems about potpourri,
The acrid smell of her hair dye as she rearranges the furniture again
And I stare at nothing
Until her voice becomes music, the emptiness of the wallpaper
cloying, sweet.
Bio
Amber Momoh's poetry has been published in the journals Literary Mama and the San Diego Poetry Annual, and the book Feng Shui With Attitude! She is a returning student who lives in San Diego with her three children.