116. To the Stars Through Difficulty: Sally Jadlow

Born in Kansas, single child in my family.
Lived on the outskirts of small town.
Learned to love cicadas song on hot summer days,
and the bright stars’ twinkle in the night sky.
Life is simpler here in the fly-over country
where farmers give an index finger wave
when passing on country roads. If one sees
an unfamiliar person, it’s only a friend
who you’ve not yet met.
No one a stranger here.

— Sally Jadlow