bringing up baby
again she falls. but nothing’s broken and she seems okay. still i go a little crazy. i look around for a nurse. then grab my phone. the big screen is turned up super loud. as usual. she tells me to be quiet and points at the movie. an old black and white. screwball comedy, circa 1938. she says ‘hush!’ then puts her finger to her lips just in case i don’t get the message. my daughter, serene at 25, gives me one of her knowing looks. ‘grandma’s fine’ she says. she sits down right next to her. side by side their faces edge toward the screen. they laugh at the same parts. when baby surprises cary grant. or gets a big kiss from kate hepburn. i watch the two of them on the loveseat. my own private screening. heads so close together. there’s no room for me.
mockingbird song turning from day to dusk
Roberta Beary is the haibun editor of Modern Haiku. Her book of short poems, The Unworn Necklace (Snapshot Press, 1st hardcover ed. 2011), was named a Poetry Society of America award finalist and a Haiku Society of America prize winner. This is her website.