The Steal
she was a collector
of things
married to a
collector of things
and knew values
she’d known strategy
for rushing in
to an antique sale when
the doors opened ~
he went left, she right
like Black Friday
shoppers rushing
for a golden egg
stories upon stories
of wheel-and-deal steals:
“I got it!” she’d said
about that golden glass lantern
that never
actually got wired
to the house
“You should have seen
her,” Dad said, smiling
with that amusing pride
that even preacher husbands
have for their wives
when they act a little
bit badass,
“when she cherry-picked
the first edition books
blocking a nemesis
shopper with a lead glass
bookcase door”
“I got ‘em!” she’d announced
across the crowded room
so in her golden years
when she got sick
and lost her mind
she didn’t lose her
prowess ~
it remained her
engrained
modus operandi
even at Christmas
when Dad held his own
version of a novelty
white elephant gift swap
for the family to ‘fight” over
the out-of-circulation
Golden Isles of Georgia
jigsaw puzzle or a scarf
from China while
avoiding the duds
like that animal
balloon twisting kit
for beginners
he brought out an eclectic assortment
of wrapped novelties
from their home museum
and set them around the tree
like pre-passing
inheritances ~
gold in the hands of
anyone lucky enough
to own them
my son’s new wife
one of those unassuming
natural beauties
who has never figured
out how gorgeous she is
inside and out
unwrapped the puzzle
everyone secretly coveted –
an exact replica of the same
boxed edition
I’d unwrapped a year ago
and put together
piece by piece
with the family
I’d treasured the experience
with so many hands together
in what I knew would be
mom’s remaining time
that I’d glued and framed it
as if it were one big group hug
forever preserved in time
and as we all rode the wave
of Christmas joy
that the puzzle
had landed right where we’d hoped,
Mom
in her greatest-ever steal of the day
invoked the first-opener option
to swap her gift
she rose from her chair
and in a final twist
of a wheel-and-deal steal
exchanged her balloon kit
for the puzzle
as the air left the room
and a roomful of teary eyes
found the floor
“I got it!” she triumphed,
turning slowly back to her chair,
puzzle raised feebly in the hand
of a weak, shaking arm
Common Threads 