by

Maw Shein Win

 

kay and ruth and sedalia and olga

these are the girls at saint francis

resigned to wheelchairs, they hide small bags of mints

and candied popcorn in the folds

of their crocheted blankets

every saturday at three o' clock i visit

the wallpaper is a startling blue

peppered with miserable birds

from the second floor sound the moans of women, take me to the bathroom!

where am i and who is this person? the carrots! the carrots!

my sunniness fails me

and the girls sing "a bicycle built for two" with no conviction

i tell them i am

leaving, moving

olga does not want to play bingo anymore

she asks me to take her back to her room

kay thanks me for the animal biscuits

sedalia says, have a good flight.