objects from childhood
There weren’t many objects in the room,
no walls filled with leather-bound books
bought in quantity from anonymous E-Bay
or individually discovered, selected lovingly
at yard-sales across the city, no albums
filled with baseball cards placed showily
on the bottom shelf of the coffee table, “Oh,
yes, this is my baseball card collection,” or
flo-blue china dispersed around the walls
in artistic arrangements, meant to catch
the soothing, evening light, rather just
a hollow metal elephant that felt cool
against your cheek whatever the weather
and a pink conch shell that held the ocean.
.
266 of Jan Ball’s poems appear in journals such as: Calyx, Connecticut
Review, Main Street Rag, Nimrod, and Phoebe, in Great Britain, Canada, India,
Ireland and the U.S. Jan’s two chapbooks: accompanying spouse (2011) and
Chapter of Faults (2014) were published with Finishing Line Press. Jan’s
first full-length poetry book, I Wanted to Dance with My Father was published
by Finishing Line Press in September, 2017. When not working out, gardening at
their farm or traveling, Jan and her Australian husband like to cook for
friends.
Abegail Morley 