Our friend Zehra is back
for an exhibition of her work
at the museum. Gone the grunge
look and her dark hair
is blond, cropped, dramatic.
She’s wearing nice clothes so
it takes me a minute or two.
She’s here to talk about her work
which features cats, rats, and foxes.
During Q and A someone in the audience
who’s wearing a squirrel mask
says I’m happy there’s a squirrel
in one of them.
I’m glad you like it says our friend
with her quick smile.
After the talk we look for a squirrel
in the paintings, any painting.
Later we talk with Zehra
about our lives, our pets, I ask
which painting has the squirrel.
There is no squirrel, she says.
Barbara Hill lives in Pawcatuck, Conn. and is the author of A Few Sharp and Glamorous Words.
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