Refrigerator Magnets Can Hold A Family Together

Refrigerator Magnets Can Hold A Family Together
(Doors of Pride)


The doors on these refrigerators 
have become my family’s: 
“Doors of Pride”

:::

These refrigerator doors…

They’ve always had pictures of beloved relatives,
(sometimes they are group photos, sometimes they are not.)

They’ve always had a varying amount of notes and comic-strip cut-outs- 
always posted by one of our hands…ranging from the rapid!-reminders!,
the stern-scoldings, and the silly jokes, and the inspirational quotes.

They’ve always had a monthly, printed-out, calendar, 
to mark all of our, impending, important dates…

:::

And when we (my older sister and I) grew up, our parents 
displayed our  ‘Art’ 
[these childhood drawings of dreams, 
which we presented to them like presents]
which they displayed [like trophies]
on those towering, magnetized, walls.

And when I went to school, and I received my report cards,
– with mostly Bees and Ahhs, plus Pluses or Minuses, 
….I had those put up, too…right next to my trophied drawings…

…Then after highschool… there wasn’t much added…
…I began going through a rough time, 
…And I was unable to do anything I felt was worth even a magnet’s damn…

….Eventho, still, I saw pictures of me, put up on the fridge..
…they were older pictures…but I didn’t fret *too hard* over the distinction…
 (because, during that time, I didn’t want my picture taken, either.
…honestly: I wanted no documentation of that self, preserved on film.)

Then, I …tentatively… started my own business, 
and I was proud to see: my business card upon the fridge!

Then I had my first poetry book self-published,
and I was even more proud to see that byline 
was cut out from our newspaper, and stuck to the fridge.
…I am somewhat embarrassed that they still have it up there…
…but not so embarrassed that I’d insist they take it down…

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My sister has had her own similar, yet unique, – fridge- experience.

Her drawings, changed to report cards, and then to business cards,
that evolved into more sophisticated cards that reflected her expertise…
Her most recent one is the most spectacular, by far, 
for it is entirely magnetized!!!
and we use to help hold up our business cards)

[…And now there is about to be an explosion of pictures,
of my sister’s first – of my beautiful, fresh-faced, niece.
…so many in fact, we might have to make some new magnets.…]

:::

I can look at my family fridge,
and I can give you my best guess 
on how Mom and Dad are doing…
and I can tell you, 
how we, as a knit family, 
are currently woven together…

M. L. Michael
4/28/10

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