EIGHT YEARS OLD

EIGHT YEARS OLD


the truth hid
in the kitchen drawer
for eight years
before it was discovered
hiding between recipes
and the crumbs
from yesterday's cookies,
written on a light green envelope
that had faded over time:

BABY
seven pounds
two ounces
June 28, 1969.

BIRTH MOTHER
five foot, four inches
hair - blonde
eyes - blue
twenty-one years old
allergic to bee stings

BIRTH FATHER
five foot, nine inches
hair - black
eyes - brown
thirty years old
divorced
a bartender.

then,
she took me in her lap
my "mother"
five foot, four inches
hair - brown
eyes - green
forty-two years old.

the smell of Jean Nate,
wrapped around her neck -
my arms, holding on
as i tried to understand
that what she was trying to tell me
didn't mean she loved me any less.

but the truth hurt,
I was a mistake.

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