Like A Baby Poem by Holly Gardner

Looking back is hard.
They shot him right behind me.
Marched him in between them
He smiled at me as if worried I'd be upset.

That state takes no prisoners I guess
In certain situations.
I wondered for years
What his family thought.

That he walked away?
That he got lost?
It's not that great.
No it's not that great here.

Anyway, but they came here
Came here from England,
And Ireland, Netherlands
Famine and plague and flood.

My family, and made it somehow
To smallpox, influenza, starvation and hot, hot sun
To become resilience and self sufficient
And I don't mind.

I don't mind a bit.
It isn't free.
This experiment in standing.
Like a baby

Tottering by on the
Hard wooden floor
The cat running
For its dear life.

It can't walk in chains
Stone packs on its back.
But I spank its hand
And remind carefully

In hope and in love
For this world
And the others
We don't know.