(poetry) by jessicaj Tue Nov 14 2017 at 23:24:03
  1. 'Stay at home' didn't describe
  2. the type of mother I was.
  3. I was the woman who took
  4. her newborn to the beach
  5. when she was four days
  6. old. We went to restaurants,
  7. visited my relatives, and ate
  8. whatever I had packed at
  9. various parks in the area.
  10. One day I thought that the
  11. girls and I would benefit
  12. from a trip to the zoo. It
  13. was dreadfully hot that day.
  14. Both girls were languid,
  15. I blamed the heat and
  16. purchased a popsicle that
  17. the three of us shared.
  18. We listened to Vivaldi on
  19. the way home. It was a
  20. good trip I thought to
  21. myself as I pulled into the drive.
  22. Before unpacking the girls
  23. I noticed one was feverish
  24. and the other had signs of
  25. an ear infection. Back to
  26. the pediatrician we went,
  27. it seemed like we had just been
  28. there, double ear infections for
  29. both girls. More antibiotics,
  30. eye drops for the one whose baby blues
  31. were now bright burning red.
  32. Stay at home mother? Working mom?
  33. "I miss Daddy!" She wailed.
  34. I was up late that night, discreet 
  35. disposal of a corpse takes time.
I like it!