I have been

a bad mother
a bad wife
a bad friend.
I have filled my failings with
irredeemable tears.
I lack. I lack. They
will write songs about it some day. The dogs follow me around the house
nosing at my heels and fingertips.
The cat colonizes my lap. I
touch his neck. He purrs.
There is no reprise. He
rebukes nothing. I have been
a good mother
a good wife
a good friend. I
am known for my selflessness and devotion. They
will write paeans to my giving some day. The dogs understand only
Sit
Move
Come
Hush
Up
Down.
They do not really speak English
unlike the cat who speaks four languages
including dog and bird.
The door opens and we all prick up our ears.
Someone else has come in.
Hermits depend on it. I have been a mother.
I have been a wife.
I have been a friend. People live whole lives without a hard cold
touch in the palm
or the vibration of laryngeal muscles cloaked in
sleek white.

Lisa Allen-Agostini is a Trinidadian novelist, poet, and performer. Her latest book, the novel The Bread the Devil Knead, is published by Myriad Editions.