accidents

Image by Emile Munier

accidents

i broke a vase at my great-grandfather's house
when i was five here come sit on my lap he said
don't feel bad about that vase i didn't like it
anyway you helped me get rid of it i knew better
but let him comfort me while i felt secretly
bad inside did you know that my own mother said
i was her worst boy no i said that can't be true oh
yes he said and she was right i made accidents happen
all the time i didn't really mean to do bad things they
just came upon me when i wasn't paying attention when
i was five my brother and i chased the goose in the
barnyard until it fell over dead we propped her up in the
fence so she would appear to be interested in the grass
on the other side what happened my father noticed
that the goose did not move all day we got spanked
should i get spanked too for the vase not in my house
he said.

Marcia Popp

Posted over on the Writer's Almanac
"accidents" by Marcia Popp, from Comfort in Small Rooms.