Poetry

Pamela L. Laskin

Alive

To Mom

No place to move
glued to a wheelchair
she can’t operate;
I push her
but at ninety-four
there is nowhere
she wants to go,

yet she clings
to the wheels
now legs,

waits
for her next meal
a dream
of fulfillment
each morsel swallowed
from her toothless smile
a reminder
she’s alive.

Pamela L. Laskin is a lecturer in the English Department at City College, where she directs the Poetry Outreach Center. Several of her children’s and poetry books have been published, and RONIT AND JAMIL, A Palestinian/Israeli ROMEO AND JULIET in verse was published by Harper Collins in 2017, and was named among the 35 books to have on your radar for 2017. BEA, a picture book, was a finalist for the Katherine Paterson Prize for Children’s Fiction, and HOMER THE LITTLE STRAY CAT, was named among the best of the indie presses for picture books. RONIT AND JAMIL is a 2018 Sydney Taylor notable book. She is the winner of the 2018 Leapfrog Fiction contest. She teaches graduate and undergraduate children’s writing. Follow her: twitter@RonitandJamil and follow her blog: http://PamelaLaskin.blogspot.com/