CENTRIPETAL
MOTHER AT WORK LYNN RUDMIN By all appearances a baby stroller Blanket carelessly hanging out Is abandoned On a university sidewalk The place is empty, end of day But for the stroller Where is the baby? A swoosh, a swish! A young woman, blue-jeaned Lithe as a boy Long-legged drops from a tree Arms extended upward Face looking upward – radiant, pleased – And I look up to her little girl Sitting on a branch (Not low at all) sturdy Straddling, learning her lesson: How to be secure in a tree
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