the social worker

I remember the social worker
when she arrived at our house.
it may have been late 1968.
she had powder blue eyes
and strawberry red hair. she
was light boned, as a fox
might be.
she was holding a clipboard,
and a small satchel
at her side. she handed me
her card. sarah was her name.
my mother had just left
for her job on the back of
a motorcycle with frank the
Coca Cola salesman.
she had worked her way up
from waitress to barmaid
at the sunny brook tavern
and wouldn't be home until
3 a.m., if at all.
I asked the social worker
to come in and I would answer any
questions she might have,
me being the oldest at home,
the older brother away at
college becoming a minister,
the electricity was off at the
time, another bill late, but I guided
the woman with a flashlight
into the tight living room.
my sisters lit candles
and began sweeping the floor.
the smaller children
were in the basement screaming
at a mouse
that came out when the lights
went off.
I offered the woman a glass
of water, to which she said no.
she looked around as best she could,
went to the back yard, looked to
where the dogs were barking,
and my sister's chicken
and rooster fluttered their
short wings, fenced in by wire.
she didn't see the garden.
the lettuce, the tomatoes,
or the marijuana plants growing
in between.
we have a garden I told her.
pointing out into the flat
dark yard.
is everything okay
here? she said. is everyone in school.
eating, sleeping.
are you unhappy?
I looked at her and said. no.
are you?