TICKET
for olga
C Ra McGuirt
you got a ticket
for going too fast
through a school zone
and i counseled you
to pay it
through the mail.
i knew it would cost you
less in the end
than going to court
and traffic school,
but you are a woman,
and wise in the way of savings
though new to this part
of the planet,
and you are not
my child
so i could say nothing further.
you sit on my knee tonight,
long wet hair down, bedraggled
and woebegone. you tell me
that they were severe. your head hurt.
you didn't understand the questions
after the film. you realize
what i was trying to spare you now,
strong woman.
oh, my child
you were chastized by forces
beyond my control.
