she holds her baby like she don’t really know it

her arms two spindly lines question marked around its body, head unsupported

the baby don’t got muscles there in its neck so its watching the fireworks

at a 180 degree angle to the ground, little pink head

she’s got american flags painted on his cheeks and the blue is kinda damp still

his onesie is red white and blue, what else could she do

besides give her son a little festivity

she not giving him much else

her mama is watching her hold this baby and she’s ready to swoop in

her gaze like a needle performing stitches on his scalene muscles

making them stronger because he’s gonna need that neck when he’s older

and he’s gotta stick it out for his mama to step on

Thank God she takes that kid from her daughter’s hands and it’s like she

don’t even notice

her shoulders relax a little but her fingers twitch like they missing something

Her mama sees she ain’t taken her eyes off the street below even though

there’s the finale coming up and she's heard they got 100 of those

weeping willow fireworks

she’s waiting for his car to pull up maybe, take her away and he’ll take the baby

away because he’ll know what to do with it

and he’ll drive past all those kids burning rope to make black snakes

and all those houses she used to clean just in time to watch the end

and they’ll make their getaway, backs to the land.