Erika Jo Brown

BABY GIRL

 

 

If I ever have a baby girl,

I will call her Olive. I will

call her martini. If all

goes according to plan

she will have caramel-colored

hair. She will lack a shell—

rebel, rebel. She will be me.  

 

If I could give birth to myself

every day like G-d does,

oh things would probably

be the same. We’re talking

an unlikely arrangement

of cells. Life begins on earth,

a sort of orange jello—

millennia before pectin

is even considered. One

thought leads to another.

Protozoa, plankton, pectin.

 

How we love our pets and

give them rugs to lay on

and names. If ever I have

a baby puppy, I will name her

miracle.