Photography © Edward S. Gault

 

Mother, May I?

“Four-year-old girl dies of Covid after anti-vaxxer mom contracts virus.”
(The Independent)

Mother, may I have my shot?
Now, at last, has come the time.
Grant I get it, but if not,
And I fail to see my prime;

Mother, may I be well dressed
When I’ve breathed my very last,
And you ready me to rest
With the others who’ve so passed?

See you comb my youthful locks,
So my head is fitly crowned
As you close my polished box,
And commit me to the ground.

Mother, will you tell my friends
That I’m sorry I can’t play?
Tell each one of them who spends
Time at games when I’m away:

When they take their whizzing toys,
And go chase a flying drone,
Let that gadget, girls and boys,
Light upon my lonely stone.

 

K.D. Taylor received his B.A. in English from Oregon State University in 2010, and still resides in Corvallis, Oregon, with his wife and their three sons. He has Tourette syndrome, and it shows, although he has found poetry to be a socially acceptable medium through which to channel his tics. He sketches fairy tale creatures in his spare time.

Edward S. Gault is a poet and fine art photographer. He lives at Mosaic Commons, a co-housing community in Berlin, Ma.