baby blues

there is no getting over this
the cats keep on disappearing into the night
& my small hands can’t hold
your brown coat floating down
the aisles of Woolworth’s downtown

mother, say sycamore, foxglove, princess,
a purple candelabra in springtime
we keep circling back
to these scenes of our loss

mother, say skeleton, spiral, hopscotch,
the pennies that echo in a hollow jug
& soft lyrics cycling from the stereo speakers

mother, say gash, glove, blossom,
the empty hearth
the empty hearth
the empty hearth
the chalkwhite Zantac on your breath

mother, say we keep circling back
say there is no getting over this
say loss

there is no getting over this
a white worm in the rubbish
a window shattered in real time
& baby rabbits skinned alive in the nighttime

the sleek guts of a cassette tape
& mother’s milk
& mother’s milk

mother, say there was no pain
there was no pain
there was no pain