Brown paper bags are for toting potatoes,
or ripening fruit,
when one cannot wait to taste their deliciousness,
or feed them to a crying baby.
Brown paper bags are for filling with flour,
then shaking one’s chicken vigorously within,
to make one’s recipes a delight.
Or, for concealing a half pint of alcohol,
on sweltering evenings
when gulps provide the breeze,
and warmth against the cold and biting hatred.
Brown paper bags are strong enough to remain whole,
Yet so fragile they sometimes melt away,
sending their contents noisily to the ground.
Brown paper bags cannot test worthiness,
for acceptance into a sorority or fraternity,
or excluding the unwanted from the ranks of those
who cling to the sleight of hand…
And like those who wrongly use them,
brown paper bags will disintegrate,
and the contents will draw a host of maggots,
before quietly rotting away from the inside out.
Cynthia Stephens
Hudson, NY