Americana

by Haley Moody

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Inspired by Savana Ogburn’s “Americana” (2021)  

 

It’s picket fences;  

white, but peeling off  

like crackle polish 

on painted fingers. 

  

It’s gloves of satin,  

pulled over the elbows 

of those who chose to 

wear white, because 

  

it’s “sophisticated.” 

  

It’s baby-blue twirls  

of handmade dresses  

with lace-lined edges  

and fabric cut from  

tablecloth prints. 

  

It’s worn-in leather  

of one-inch heeled boots  

with etched-in lone stars  

and sewn-in designs. 

  

It’s planted flowers,  

representatives,  

the suns on Earth, who  

receive too much of  

themselves and wither. 

  

It’s “won’t you stay,  

why won’t you go?”  

from eyes that speak  

far more than lips. 

  

It’s bringing back  

what’s not in in. 

 

It’s Americana.