Chessie
and the Masons
Jane
K. Kretschmann
I
dreamed that Chessie
attended Blue Lodge, Jim said,
and that little cat carried on
conversations. I don't mean
cat
talk like menow
as we always say she says
but human talk.
I didn't see her jump
into
the car but when I got
there, she hopped out,
rode up the elevator,
greeted all the guys,
and
took a seat beside
me in the south,
just as formal in her calico
as I was in my tux.
Why,
she even took
a part in the ritual.
All the brothers stared,
shook their heads, grinned,
except
two ancient ones
who protested, "It's against
the law of God and man
to bring a female into lodge."
Broadcast
on Art Waves, a production of WKCR (89.9 FM) at Columbia University,
New York, on June 21, 2006, hosted by Anne Cammon.
***
Jane
K. Kretschmann's works have appeared or are forthcoming in
ByLine, Waterways: Poetry in the Mainstream, Writer's Journal,
Fresh Boiled Peanuts, Artistry of Life, Right Hand Pointing, Wavelength:
Poetry in Prose and Verse, Common Threads, Sandcutters, Ohio Poetry
Day Best of 2003 and 2004, NFSPS Encore 2005, The Farmer's Daughter
anthology, the NPR program "Theme and Variations," the
Dayton Metro Library Web site, and the Akron (Ohio) Art Museum
Web site, on which her poem "Crazy Quilt" was posted.
Jane grew up in Alabama and lives in Ohio, where she is an Associate
Professor of English and a member of the Edison Writers' Club.
©
Jane Kretschmann