She Wanted to be a Mama
There’s a road down into a valley where people who want to
make a difference move in. The valley is flat right up to the mountains.
There is brush and dirt. The best crops are low to it or under it.
Mushrooms and potatoes. In the windy season, Spring, you can get lost
in dirt storms. Houses are small and old. Most buildings are fifty
or more years old. Then there are the people. They have been here
for generations. New ones learn why the land is dirt cheap.
All she wanted was to be a mama and now she is
though she can’t buy diapers ‘til the welfare check comes in.
Girls here tote babies as they read English texts
and do math problems if they are lucky enough to have
a mother or grandmother or even an older sister,
not yet 20 with 2 or 3 kids of her own, to push her
to finish high school. But most often she doesn’t
join the mamas’ classes, getting bigger every year.
She’ll live in her own bedroom with the baby or maybe
the father’s house if her parents have kicked her out
to give them more space.
All she wanted was to be a mama and now she is
though she can’t buy diapers ‘til the welfare check comes in.
If you’ve come here to be a social worker or a teacher
who cares, these girls will pierce your heart with their lack
of interest in a future. What are they going to do?
Sign up for welfare. Life is cheap here in the valley.
They can make it. Maybe work a few shifts at McDonalds,
but not too many. Teachers, it’s hard to make a difference here.
All she wanted was to be a mama and now she is
though she can’t buy diapers ’til the welfare check comes in.