a boy who called her mammy…

She often threatened to kill herself

throw herself off the Forge bridge

or more often than not just run away.

What pleasure would a grown woman

get by frightening a small boy.

She relished exasperating the boy

and denying him small favours.

Her vocabulary consisted of no

where he was concerned 

he did notice that his three siblings

seemed to have whatever they wanted

but at the same time, he dismissed

the observations as cruel imaginations

who would be so cruel he questioned

who could be so hateful to a small boy

to a boy who called her mammy…