my final 1st grade memory: we lined up for
recess my line against the wall by the door
hanging from the wall were large placards one
for each morning with dick-and-jane words
to learn on that day you could see only the top
card I already was a reader but I stood in that
line waiting for it to move and stealthily peeked
behind card after card to see the words to come
I knew this wasn’t really cheating yet somehow
felt like it was: it’s still a clear remembrance
I smile that it retains its faint whiff of guilt
2022 Jacqueline Jackson
This article appears in Overcoming the odds.
