Sharon Lask Munson

Before Jonas Salk

That sultry summer, Mother latched the gate leading into our backyard, determined to keep her three daughters safe. She feared iron lungs and threats of paralysis. Neighborhood children poked fingers in the chain-link enclosure, swapped trading cards and comic books through gaps in the wire, wove tales from up and down the block—roof ball scores, trips to Belle Isle, double features at the Dexter Theater—while we, the cloistered ones, played out the summer with absolute confidence we would remain unscathed in a dangerous world.

pull of the moon
shadows at sunset
melt away

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About the Author

Sharon Lask Munson is a retired teacher, poet, old movie enthusiast, and lover of road trips, with many published poems and several books of poetry. She says many things motivate her to write: a mood, a memory, the smell of cooking, burning leaves, something observed or overheard, and of course, imagination. She lives and writes in Surprise, Arizona. www.sharonlaskmunson.com.

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