“Letter to My Mother / Whom I Blamed for Absolutely Everything”

Letter to My Mother
                  Whom I Blamed for Absolutely Everything

You’ve been gone fifty years, Mother.
I no longer blame you, and I miss that.
This business of accepting responsibility

myself for every little thing is difficult.
So when things go awry, my husband
and I blame Kaylee, mischievous thing

that she is. She handles it well, much
better than you ever did. As long as she
can jump up on our kitchen counter

and supervise my opening a can of cat food
into a clean bowl twice a day, she’s good to go.
She is independent, sweet and funny,

as you were, a true nonconformist,
just like you. She is most beautiful, a show-
stopper. She has star quality, like you.