prev prose poem, draft: the transparency of homework next
2002-04-23 | 12:41 p.m.

I'd have pencils in the glove box if I were a good mother
so the kids could do their homework on the drive to school.

No! if I were a good mother I'd make them do the homework
before they ever set foot... Wait--
I wouldn't even have to make them
they would do it on their own
they would anticipate my every

No! They'd do it because they wanted to

The discussion over before it starts, the entire process transparent
(on the way home from school, maybe, the day before
or the night before, after softball and before dinner
assuming the table is cleared off--I always forget about that)
I wouldn't even have to be there; theoretically I could phone it in.
I could be inanimate, like a maternal ATM
with nothing to dole out. No need. What for?
My motherless children would place
the pristine papers under their pillows
like Edgar Cayce
and in the morning, all would be well.

A good mother is modern, efficient, unobtrusive
like appliances at the World's Fair
She is all about the hugs. Says 'I love you' every day
But I don't always remember
I am too busy running late, getting all Great and Powerful Oz about the homework
and thinking, I can't believe there's not one fucking pencil in this whole fucking car

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