Mikasa Please!

depending on the site - 

you can get

four for $50-$80...

mine were second-hand

but new.

6 for $12.

I remember

looking at patterns

maybe in the Bay

Red Deer

or Calgary.

Hoping I married

someone

who liked Mikasa

who laughed

when we did

the dishes

together.

I was 18,

what did I know?

it is years later,

two divorces.

I still like

Mikasa,

they seemed

like old friends

in the second-hand store

in Moose Jaw.

I picked them up

recognizing

the solid

fineness

of quality.

Different 

than my dollar tree

ones.

I put them back, 

I picked them up,

I put them back.

Indecisive

I thought how

happy 

the would make me.

 

Like a child

I watched her

carefully wrap

the Mikasa.

The children and I 

eat grilled cheese,

salad and

other things,

off them.

Sometimes

I cry when I 

wash the dishes

alone.

But the 

pattern makes

me happy,

smile.

I make sure all

the egg is off

them.

They laugh

in the soapy

water.

They squeal 

when I dry them.

With them

I don't feel

alone.