When I was little, my sisters and I would read for hours
Sharing a sleeve of saltines and well-worn paperbacks.
When my aunts were small, they would cuddle back to back
Dipping into the crinkly sleeve with one hand and turning pages with another.
Today, my kids leapt on the Premium Plus box with joy
And hied themselves couchward, post-haste.
Nobody passed this on intentionally.
There was never a ceremony of handing over the salty reins.
And yet, I am certain that in some glossy Christmas future,
I will find my grandkids curled around a sleeve of saltines, reading.
(Some of you might have a watch, a war medal, an immigration record
But I wouldn't trade my heritage of saltines and stories for anything.)
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