A tiny girl, with sweet face, gentle features,
soft voice, recites her ABCs for me.
She learned them from an older, bolder cousin.
The speech is hard for my aged ears to decipher.
Mingled languages, English, Spanish, baby talk,
an imitation of the elder cousin’s careful pronunciation.
She smiles shyly, appreciating my attentive listening
without noticing my lack of comprehension.
Her mother was not deported today.
The mother showed up at the immigration center
with the little girl in her arms. The fearful father
stayed home. Bail money collected by well-meaning
neighbors filled her pockets, just in case.
Sighs of relief as she returns with a four-month reprieve.
The little one will know her letters and some numbers,
in English, the language of the only home
she's ever known, by the time she escorts her mother
to the immigration office again in July.
Madlynn Haber is the author of Seasons of Sorrow and Joy (Metaphysical Fox Press, 2025). She lives in a cohousing community in Northampton, Massachusetts.Her writing has been published in many literary journals and anthologies including, Eunoia Review, Months to Years, Orenaug Mountain Poetry Journal, Bright Flash Literary Review, Sheila-Na-Gig and The Metaworker Literary Magazine.
