Back Porch People

 

I  wondered what neighbors thought

when my mother mopped our front porch

every Saturday, rain or shine.

We never sat there or used it for anything.

The back porch was where we hung up              
our dish towels to dry, shined our shoes,

set out tomatoes to ripen, and where

Mom darned socks in the warm sun.

Back porch people wore aprons or overalls

with their sleeves rolled up ready to do

what needed to be done, or just rested

after the day’s chores were finished.

Front porch people were “uppity,” Mom said.

She had no use for neighborhood show-offs.