Daisy
You live surrounded by snow-capped mountains and concrete watchtowers, winding dirt roads and criss-crossing barbed wire. Key to get in, you can’t get out. Never knew more than these walls, home is where your Mama is. You are surrounded by 100 mothers, you are alone. Your little hand curls in fist. Clutch clump of dirt your life depends on. Kick my shin in dirty sneakers. Make your presence felt. I know baby, I’m trying to make you smile. Hair grows out in cowlicks like it missed a spot. Makes sense. Matted fleece makes you sweat. Princess patch like every other child can’t learn to dream. Take it off it cakes in mud, you shiver. Baby’ll get sick, she says to me, watching needle. Weaves in and out, sewing life back together. You cry, flop against knee clenched on concrete, cuidate niña, mama esta ocupada. Busy waiting for nothing to come. She could take an eye out. The eyes are all you have. Teeth rot from mama’s pain. What baby wants baby gets. Doesn?t know how to want much at all. Ven aca niñita no llores nena. Take a candy. Calloused hand slips pink wrapper through bars. Padlock clinks iron. Guard takes daddy back to his cell.
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