July 2005  

Whose???    © by    Ellen T. Johnston-Hale
 

“You’ve got your daddy’s big brown eyes,”
my grandma says to me.
“They twinkle like your daddy’s do,
as anyone can see.”

The neighbor lady studies me
and says, “I do suppose
that everyone who sees you says,
'You’ve got your mother’s nose.'”

When Mama fixes my pigtails,
she sighs, “Well, it appears…
In fact, no doubt about it,
you’ve got Paw-Paw’s big ears.”

My cousin claims I’ve got her cheeks
and chocolate-smooth brown skin.
My uncle says I have
the little dimple in his chin.

Auntie says I’ve got her lips
when she comes to visit.
Sometimes, I want to ask somebody,
“Whose face IS it?”

Previously published in the North Carolina Poetry Society's
Pinesong: Awards 2005. Used with the poet's permission.
NOTICE: The copyright © for this poem belongs to the poet.