Dear Children’s Books, remember when she
did all the voices? remember how Grover
made her cough? remember the last time
you heard her voice go up in excitement?
“D” for dungeon or Dora
denouement, the end of a line...
on Christmas, through tears
thank you father for giving us your son
my boyfriend was scared
I heard his father preach on Sunday
and this is why God’s will is like
wearing a suit; eventually he left me
for Yale, like all good boys
who grow up to be doctors
unlike the protagonists of Sounder,
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Dawn Tefft | Mudlark No. 29
Contents | Dear Nixon