(Mens' section, left of lingerie, one floor above cutlery)
for his mother.
Minutes, hours...
Over the PA a voice pleaded
"Please, would the parent or guardian
of this...delightful...young boy
please come pick him up from Lost and Found?"
Don't mistake it for pity or nurturing instincts
but I went to the counter
and told them he was
Mine.
Black velvet corduroy was my idea
but I wasn't to blame for the red shoes.
"No honey, but I know where she is.
Won't it be fun to ride in the trunk?"
Found a nice secluded place
down by the river- where there are no lights
and mushy, penetrable ground
taught him everything I knew.
Later that night I dumped him off at Returns
wrapped in cellophane
receipt for a juicer stapled to his red-taint forehead.
not dead, but eyes lolled just the same.
I giggled and drove away
waiting for the recruit to grow up, for all of them to grow up
to become soldiers in our army
to win the war of "Normal."
