Christmas on the Courthouse Square, Circa 1958
by Michael Escoubas

Snowflakes, big as the nickels Grandma fed
into the parking meters, sifted down
then swirled by an updraft of wind so that
the courthouse square became a living snow globe.

Grandma dressed up to go downtown:
Nylons, with a seam down the middle, pointed
high heels with laces, a green knee-length coat,
with a brown fur collar, matching brown gloves.
Her hat featured netting that covered half
of her face. She wore rouge on her cheeks.
Her strong perfume wafted through my nostrils.

We hit all the best stores: Klemm’s and Roland’s,
and Ensenberger’s, on the square’s west side.
The best part was sitting together at Woolworth’s
lunch counter for hot chocolate. The cup came
with a mountain of marshmallows that painted
a white mustache on my upper lip.

By now much has changed on the courthouse square.
Yet, I retain the sweet savor of her memory …
Grandma and me, she, perfumed, sashed and seamed,
we two, together on one special Christmas Eve.



 

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