‘You Were For Sure’ by Ray Cates

Sally

we both became seven

as we had a year before

become six

and I never knew you

were the great cousin

at five and four

I knew you always

saw you in summers

it was that time

of world war two

when

we sang those songs

like on the radio

you played nurse

I was the soldier

on vj day

we were the ones

jumping up and down

with the small American flags

we played school

as we knew

first and second

grades

and you lived

far from me

in

Oklahoma City

but

I knew

in each and every summer

you were for sure ———

the war was over

and our fathers both survived

I went to the lyn view school

in a wood side car

each day

in East Tennessee

I didn’t know till after

your parents let you walk

then

one night

that just seemed like any other

I began to hate

our family phone

black heavy hateful thing

it rang

and I still want to turn down

the story on that line

after I learned

I didn’t want to know

maybe

the fault is

that we still live

and think

forever will

but you

stepped off the curve

and the hideous fire truck

ran you down

if I could have just

been there

to snatch you back

but they said

you were dead

they rarely lied

except

about santa

and that there were no more

cookies

never — night messages

from the devil phone

and

never was I silly enough

to think of

the policeman as my friend

but what

except to put out flames

do firemen do?????

in their big engines

horns screaming

and every time they do

I still think how

they

killed you!

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