his mother writes to tell us
thank you
for the money we sent for Christmas
she says
he used the money to buy puppy slippers
my heart pounds a bit, holding her letter
once, after the miscarriage
i saw a baby boy that looked like our girls
dressed in denim overalls and puppy Robeez
the sight nearly undid me
and now she writes to say
he chose puppy slippers,
this little boy we sponsor, the same age our baby should be
the gift he is to me
is far more than the gifts he chooses
with our American dollars
