How to Lie to Your Mother

Talk about your cats. You’re worried

the calico is getting too thin, but she

won’t eat any of the food you bought,

not even the organic one. Mention

you’re redecorating your bedroom.

You don’t have a favorite color

at the moment, so you picked blue.

You’ve spray-painted some wall hangings

and you found this paisley print sheet

at Thrift USA. You’re going to make

curtains. Everything is blue.

Say you can’t wait to visit her.

Insist on a trip to IKEA. It’s so close

and you need shelves. You don’t want 

your new roommate to think 

you’re a slob. Dodge the question 

about group therapy. Ask her 

about her health. She always

has a lot to say about it.

Try to remember which medications

have changed. There’s a list

in her purse, but still, someone should

know what she’s taking. Dad doesn’t.

Has it been thirty minutes yet?

You can’t talk for less or she’ll feel 

shut out. Ask about the animals

at the shelter. Are there any new kittens?

Try to stay focused on the details

when she describes them. Make it

into a game. See how much 

you remember later. Check the clock 

again. Wait for her to lose 

her train of thought. Pretend 

you’ve just realized what time it is. 

Tell her you need to get ready for work. 

Say I love you. Say goodbye. 

             Ellie White, 2016

(First published by The Academy of American Poets, 2016)

Young woman posed with a telephone, circa 1915
from the Library of Congress's Prints & Photographs division
via Wikimedia Commons