The Talk By Gayle Danley Pretty soon we’ll have the talk. She’ll ask me where babies come from And I will lie to her: “Babies come from the chance meeting of sperm and egg See the man deposits his sssperm which is like a pudding into the woman’s vvagina and it travels up this tube-y thing and only one of them gets the prize and bing! A cell becomes a fetus becomes baby becomes you. Go do your homework.” She will wait for me to calm down, her eyes patient requiring the truth and I will tell her: “Babies come from Friday nights melted into Saturday mornings; the Isley Brothers and 3 or 4 glasses of white zin; miniskirts and aching zippers; sofa cushions sweaty and ogodthecondombroke; Babies come from blue lights and e.p.t. tests and the wet spot on clean sheets; Lonely knees that bump beneath the table; love letters sealed with a miss and $758 phone bills; eyeliner and lips to match; muscled Thighs and a sweet, milky quarter of yes in the center of pink panties. You came from this: a separated daddy and a desperate mama; A ripped sonogram and hours spent on hardwood floors asking girlfriends: Should I go through with this? Grandma’s washboard and the dust tracks Grandaddy made when he left her with five girls to maim You came from this: Maryland rain, nights of shag carpet lovin’ and days Just $2 short of the rent; And one afternoon you came I wanted your father so badly it hurt Even took his last name and flung it behind yours like a spare tire Whatever he gave me was never enough It was like his love was a sieve And my desire for him Water I was insane Packed my dreams in a U-Haul and moved them to MD Nothing better to do 30 and scared You came from this: Collision of longing Tongue kissing and shame The emptiness at the corner of GA Avenue And the fullness of swollen ankles and readjusted dreams You came from: A poet and a singer Fists and car keys Peach cobbler and gumbo Love And that last dirty fight on the Beltway You came baby You came, here” And she’ll say: “Mama, babies come from peach cobbler?” and I’ll say yes.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 17:26:04 +0000