Roll Call: Page

Page
is the exhausted mother
who got no sleep for the first 6 months
after I was born because
I had colic and cried constantly.

people who believe
in reincarnation say
that if a baby has colic it is because
two souls are fighting to be reborn
in the same tiny vessel
and when the colic stops it means
one of them has won. I wonder
who won mine?

Page just wants
to be left alone. she doesn’t want
to take care of these brats
with no help from
her husband. she misses
her own mother
every day, though they can never
be reunited. she’s a self-made martyr
who constantly wants attention
for her selflessness.