IN THE NEW WORLD

My mother in her Old World pose
sails through a shop on Third Avenue
like a steam liner, leaving froths
of lace, long white scarves in her wake.

She dons fur caps, high boarskin boots,
brocaded gowns of her Moscow youth;
like crystal, turning, decades flash
in velvet-curtained booths.

Once from her closet rack, I stole
a sequined shawl, black sash.
She laughed - to find me rouged
and stumbling in her spike-heeled shoes.

Now each, in turn, holds up a chipped
hand mirror for the other’s use.
She tucks in strands of grey.
We pick out matching pins.

-Florence Elon

Berkeley’s poetry Walk was laid in October 2003 along Edison Street between Shattuck and Milvia Streets. The route includes 128 metal plates with excerpts from songs, each of which is related in one way or another to the city of Berkeley.

No details are known about the poet whose song appears on the current sign.