Haikus for Bad Mothers

Why didn’t you want a baby?

I thought I couldn’t

breathe with someone else taking

the space inside me.

Why did you have a baby in times like these?

Your house can burn down

whether you eat in silence

or play jazz through lunch.

Why did you (insert activity here) pregnant?

I could not keep him

safe from the wreck of life, so

I kept him with me

Why didn’t you leave the house more?

The cacophony

outside screamed over the voice

singing through my veins.

Why did you have a second baby?

Everywhere I looked

I recognized her face, but

we hadn’t met yet.

Why did you have a thirdfourthfifthsixthetc. Baby?

That blank between my

daughter’s smile, a comma, my

son’s question mark eyes.