My Story

They didn’t believe her

My mother

She knew

That I was coming

They didn’t believe her

Until I really came

 

They say it lasted hours

I certainly took my time

Everyone held their breath

 

My mama named me

Wanting the rarest name

She could think of

And for the middle,

Taylor

After a character

In an old tv show

 

Brown hair

Curly as curly can be

Just like my mama’s

But that didn’t last

It fell out

Grew back

Straight as a pin

Said I had my gram’s hair

And my mama’s eyes

 

By the time

I was one

We were alone

My daddy went away

Left us with my grandparents

Took off to the other side of town

 

But I didn’t know the difference

I wasn’t worried

I didn’t care

Why should I

A baby who can barely open its eyes

 

Years later

I understood

I understood why she made him leave

Why my mama made me fatherless

 

I never got any real siblings

My mama said she had one perfect child

And she didn’t need another

 

Father got a son

When I was nine

He had my daddy’s eyes

And almost no hair

They named him after my great grandfather

Bradley

 

There weren’t anymore after that

Just me and my half-brother

Who were rarely seen together

But he’s three now

About to start real school

 

Sometimes I wonder

If he’ll even know me

When he’s old enough to understand

And when he’s old enough to drive

If he’ll even want to see me