Margaret Tau

The Fill-up

Dad asks the four of us kids to each grab a paper bag, head outside to the blue spruce tree at the foot of the driveway and pick as many bagworms as we can. The one who picks the most gets a nickel. Circling the tree, we easily manage to wipe the perimeter clean of worms—the real test is the interior. Thinking of that nickel, I do a body slam into the tree’s nucleus grabbing at every bagworm in sight. The piercing and slashing of spruce needles on bare arms and legs is well worth it. Breathless, I emerge with a smile and a bag piled as high as movie popcorn. 

how I spend
my mad money
Gone With the Wind

---

Margaret Tau lives in New Bern, North Carolina. She has a great love of poetry with a focus on haiku and other short forms. She spends much of her time writing, gardening, and caring for her husband and chihuahua. Her poetry has appeared in Under The Basho, Frogpond, Poetry Quarterly, and Right Hand Pointing, among others.