By Every Family’s Got One Guest Poet — Marie A. Mennuto-Rovell
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(Mac Arthur Avenue 1953)
The front door of my grandparent’s house
opened directly into the festivities…
Cotton candy cones…
licked clean, littered our
street this late summer week-end.
Endless streams…
of immigrants and their offspring
meandered up and down our block all day
and into the evening.
My grandpa Giuseppe…
volunteered to help carry the life-size statue
of the patron saint of Naples in the procession
preceeding the celebration.
I remember…
how the bees hovered around
the torrone nougat candy concession, right
next to the hazel nut necklaces, kewpie dolls
and pinwheels spinning.
My favorite was…
the sfingi stand, also known as zeppoli. These
balls of dough, deep fried to perfection and
dusted with powdered sugar were the best!
Burning our fingertips…
as we reached into
the grease stained white paper bags. Hoping
there’d be some left over for tomorrow.
Marie’s poem was previously published on POETSONLINE.ORG.
Marie A. Mennuto-Rovello works full time at staying alive and keeping in touch. Her poetry is often a reflection of childhood memories, but can be triggered by almost anything. In her previous life, she was an active participant of the poetry community in Bergen County, N.J., something she misses very much.
