5 April 2007 | Vol. 7, No. 1

Way Over There

by MARTHA SILANO

Everyone gets their phonics homework done on time

everyone makes a snow globe

& the little cardinal stuck

to the bottom of a baby food jar

never comes unglued

mommy in fact

never comes unglued & the daddy

(part Mr. Brady part Clark Kent

just a smidgen

of Arnold Schwarzenegger thrown in)

can't wait to come home and empty

the trash make a dent

in the mountain of dirty pots & pans

& the kids never lose their breath

turn blue while the medics

clamor up the walk with the oxygen tank

never need to be tested for thirteen

allergies including Cat Epithelium

the son happy with his plastic dinosaurs

never crying 'puter mama 'puter

the daughter never waking

with a fever—barf all over her puppy-patterned dress

& after the kids go to bed the mommy (half-

Demi Moore half-Angelina Jolie) dons

an apron with nothing underneath

nothing except a Miracle Bra

a red lacy thong

no burnt-out light bulbs no crumbs in the sheets

way over there not even on the shortest day

all the money & time & love they need