How Alone Barbie Chang’s Mother

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How alone Barbie Chang’s mother

              must have felt doing

nothing but dying her mother actually

              stopped dying her hair

in January stopped being an actuary

              for her money she must

have known her time was limited did

              the diseased birch tree

know they were going to cut it down

              how quickly the air

around it filled in the space afterwards

              at some point we are

all eliminated from this earth at some

              point most of us give

birth at some point we all lose a mother

              at some point we are all

disappointments who can’t possibly care

              for others when our

mothers die we are all lost and there are

              no words for it others

want to name us as grieving some

              even name us heroes