Loss in the Mental Lottery
Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem
My mother had a stroke before the hours
My oldest brother was to wed. This stripped
Her brain of language output. Other powers
Were lost. Her finer reading powers were blipped.
The Reader’s Digest ads that said she might
Have won a giant jackpot she thought meant
That she was filthy–rich were like a blight
On all around her. All our lives were bent
To trying to explain the meaning of
The artful ads. This drove her into screams
Of spitting anger. Kindest speaking love
Could not undo the nightmares from her dreams.
The magazine was not quite trying to
Deceive, but mother’s mind had turned to stew.
