I will not feed him beef,
nor chicken, though I've made no friends
in that family.  We mothers worry so,
it is no wonder she worries.

But I refuse to feed him beef
because I once had a summer friend
who became winter sausages
and I do not eat my friends
nor feed them to hungry relatives.

But, yes, I agree to teach him the Bible,
and make his pillow God.
He will hear the parables of Jesus
our fish will multiply in the form of broccoli and sweet potatoes.
I will show how we should share bread
and sit back and watch our baskets overflow.

I will show him Krishna, the dark haired flautist,
I will teach him how Radha longs,
the painful joy of Mirabai
and how, if you stay up all night chanting,
the light will come in one form or another.

I will teach him how to bow deep in prayer
five times a day, so unlike those heathens
who only rarely think of God.
We will lift our hands and cry "Allahu Akbar"!
and know there is only God.

We will sit with Him at the dinner table,
carry Him in our pockets to school
and uncover Him in the smallest
sugar ant.

I will instruct him how to sit still
to find silence...
how to love everyone,
because they are yourself
and never eat your friends.

But all this planning is for nothing.
She'll return from Las Vegas like Jesus
rises each Easter.  And if not,
she'd never leave her son to such a radical
life, though she really likes the sound
of pillows stuffed with God.

it was washing the dishes, the puckered hands,
the wet rising to elbows
it was the spot of moisture from water spilling
gathering there, around the belly button

it was the remembrance, startling, a cold shower,
though a welcome reminder

His hand wrapping about her waste
years of looking in the wrong direction
the breath near her ear
the sudden circle of vision

it was His name, it was the eyebrow curling
the height next to her minuscule form

it happened as the children read their stories
how the prince would save the princess
who did not know herself

the royal wedding
the happiness ever after

her wiping off wet hands
how the serving tray sparkles