Raising Children

Raising Children Chickens, wandering across the yard... making soft clucking noises. The rooster is watching the sky. He knows that the day is beautiful, and yet full of danger. The two create a mix of confusion, complicated by the happy delusion they are safe and free. In the house... Mama sends me out to the coop. She tells me to gather all the eggs and make sure the hens have food. They give us exactly what we need, and are still happy. Mama sends me out to the barn. I have to feed the big horse too, clean the stall, and do it all. Mama sends me to the river, to fish for dinner, and gather wild herbs from the shores. She tells me not to return until I have done all that I need to do. Mama makes me clean the house, when I get home... late. She tells me it is my fate, to do all these things, again and again. Mama lived a long time. Mama does not live anymore. She is gone. I don't know what to do, without her.