Doris

Pearl necklaces
draped
around necks

You
in our mother's favourite
black stilleto heels
I
resigned always
to the beige sandals
she no longer wore

Bright red lipstick
smudged
on lips
cheeks
chins
transformed into
carefully lined lips
in sedate
neutral
shades

You
a wife, a mother
I
resigned always
to waiting my turn

And I miss
our childhood

Playing in the garden
the one time
it snowed in Maseru

Lying in the sun
reading Archie comics
drinking cold lemonade

Doris,
Why were we so eager to grow up?