The Sand Hill Review               http://www.sandhillreview.org 2011

I Was Born, and Then

I was born on Mother’s Day to a loving mother and an absent father. Three brothers followed, and my childhood was happy. Then my mother wept, and I asked her why. In the intentional absence of all four parents, I married Michael. When my brother died, I told Aunt Margaret that he hadn’t made it, and asked, did I have to wear black. Then my husband betrayed me, and my back gave out. So later, in San Francisco, I wrote a newspaper ad, my prayer to the universe, and Ron came to me. We walked on Ocean Beach and ate ice cream. We married and had no children. Then I crashed my car and lost my mind for a time. I talked to Ellen, and she heard me—my real self, somewhere down inside, not yet departed. Next the soothing sea, and I was healed. And then, approximately yesterday, I woke from a very bad dream.

Muriel Karr