The Pale Yellow Line
A poem by Jacqueline Jules

The Pale Yellow Line

Sharing a bedroom with a pink carpet,
back in southern Virginia, my sister and I
borrowed Momma’s yardstick to measure
the dividing line we made of masking tape.

For an entire week, neither one of us crossed
that pale yellow line and there was peace.
No “That’s mine!” or “Don’t touch!”

We held our truce in the kitchen,
made popcorn and hot chocolate
for a movie in the family room.

Momma was pleased, told us we should
remember this all our lives.

And I have. When my coworker Cindy
says she doesn’t trust science, I don’t
remind her how many hours she stares
at a cell phone, a product of science.

I change the subject,
recalling that pale yellow line
and how my sister and I
finally learned to sit in peace
on opposite ends of the couch.

About the Author:

Jacqueline Jules is the author of Manna in the Morning (Kelsay Books, 2021), Itzhak Perlman’s Broken String, winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Prize from Evening Street Press, and Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember (Bushel & Peck, 2023). Her poetry has appeared in over 100 publications. Visit  www.jacquelinejules.com

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