Front Porch Review
A literary magazine for the young at heart and mind

he gazes at the faded paper
mimeographed program
found in an envelope plucked from
overstuffed picture files

father-daughter dance
cheap stereo music
echoes in his head
tinny tunes from bygone eras

                        remembers that afternoon, his
                        shy ten-year-old baby girl
                        unbraced overbite
                        freckles dotted her nose
                        hair combed long
                        robin’s egg blue barrette
                        complimented her eyes

                        sipped lemonade punch
                        nibbled bland tea cookies
                        awkwardly attempted to waltz
                        until she whispered, “I don’t like
                        this song, Daddy.”

                        she and her friends collapsed
                        in giggles afterwards
                        patent leather shoes eager to
                        do the Twist, squeal at I Wanna
                        Hold Your Hand

a few weeks later
he passes on the envelope
eager to see her grown-up reaction
she smiles at baby photos
pulls the crinkled program
studies it, puzzled
“You were ten,” he prompts
points to the year.  Plaintive tone
wills her to recognize this fond moment
she shakes her head no, stuffs
paper back into its folder

pas de deux memory denied

By Joanne Faries

Joanne Faries, originally from the Philadelphia area, lives in Texas with her husband Ray. She considers herself fortunate to be able to pursue writing after eons in the business world. However, she does like money, and so works part-time as a documentation specialist for a metals testing lab.

Published in Doorknobs & Bodypaint, Joanne writes short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She has works in Shine magazine, Magnapoets Journal, Silver Boomer Books – Freckles & Wrinkles, Chicken Soup for the Soul – Kids in the Kitchen and also Thanks, Mom. Joanne has started several novels, currently in the crap stage.

Joanne enjoys reading and movies, and is the film critic for the Little Paper of San Saba, a town with no movie theater. Somehow that fits her writing career.

Humor and angst – on paper, together or separate. That’s her writing goal. http://wordsplash-joannefaries.blogspot.com Her e-mail address: Joanne Faries