I try everything I can think of
begging
pleading
even a formal request to the magistrate
written documents
petitioning my transfer
to a new master
She warns me to stop trying to talk
to the priest and the courts
Have I ever harmed you? she asks
in front of witnesses,
so I’ll know
what I’m expected to say
and to do
How dare you remember your mother, she says
I am your mother
this is your home
So once again I pretend
that love and nature
and logic
have all been replaced
by this nightmare
a vision
strange life
lost in dreams