Dear Grandmother, Dear Obstinate,
Dear Push Mower, Dear Unbrushed Teeth,
why did you send all the diet cookbooks?
why did you hate my brothers?
they were not the soldier promising
his deathbed mother not to marry you
they were not their grandfather
who used to fix typewriters
before he left to fix rocks
a man forever obsolete
maybe she could keep the children quiet
if you had loved her more quietly
did you know she used to have nightmares
about a TV jester named Jingles?
no matter how big I get
no matter where I go-go-go
I’ll always watch my TV set
for the Jingles Show
by the way, lately I’m having Civil War dreams

Dawn Tefft | Mudlark No. 29
Contents | Dear Letters My Mother Wrote