stamped in red: "7 1 5 C"

Tuesday, September 1st, 2020.

sunny, 73° and

Anne Pieroni shows-up

unexpectedly.

these surprise appearances

are rare in that the family

has gone through every conceivable

image taken of her throughout

the journey of her young life.

I almost tossed the photo out

which was buried between the pages

of an old guidebook to

the Newport Mansions.

but I began leafing through

the pamphlet and there

between “Chateau-Sur-Mer” and

the “Green Animals Topiary Garden”

out pops Anne Pieroni.

“Miss Backyard"–– dated July 3, 1943.
I’m 6 months old, so I must be

somewhere in the house.

and there’s Annie Pieroni, posing outside

below the kitchen window where

the drainpipe hangs.

she stands without outward emotion,
erect, but listing slightly to starboard.

she’s not drunk.

the camera is listing slightly to port.

my wonderment and confusion over this snapshot

is not close to ebbing.

It’s 1943. I’m 6 months old.

my sister is 3 years old, so she must be
somewhere in the house, too.

I know my mother’s handwriting;

a delicate cursive, yet confident
in that she’s made-up her mind as to how

she wants her signature to be seen.

but she wrote: “Anne Pieroni”!
Anne Pieroni? her maiden name?

my sister’s 3 years old for christ’s sake!

and I’ve been somewhere in the house for 6 freakin' months!

at city designated number: 1017