if they ask
how many children
do you have
I almost always know
how many I have
I’m ready to shout
or sing
or say
three not two
three
if they ask
how old she is
a simple question
I brought upon myself
I don’t know what to say
how to add
six years alive and the time since
six plus one is usually seven
but now
I don’t know what to say
how to count
for a long time
she was stuck stuck at six
but now she lies far beyond
any single rational number