January 2025
Bio Note: I am a single mother and a licensed clinical social worker living in New Jersey with my teenage son and cat, Sheba. My writing has been published in Grand Little Things and Sad Girl Diaries, and is forthcoming in Eunoia Review.
Mother May I
Should I lie still,
pretending that ordinary is good enough?
Or should I present you with the perfect prose,
trying to prove that perfect is the new pretty?
Should I pose naked,
modeling this jargon?
Should I throw language in your face
like a rude slap
or a stick of gum I'm tired of chewing?
Should I keep lying about the color of my hair,
denying that a box of dye can’t transform
a thick tangle of roots?
I wish the world would quit
playing childish games like
“Mother May I”
and take a giant step forward,
admitting that all rules
are rigged.
©2025 Tammy Smith
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