Clara is, was, and will always be

Outliving her children.
In two years, her brood has dwindled. To her,
and to the 6, I mean 64-year-old child.

Nancy has ancedoted me on her childhood,
about pushing a kid into hot tar,
about stealing quarters from mom,
about being the one to mother, and do the afterwards work.

I know it is not a bunch of falsehood,
but it makes me wonder what Clara's done,
to piss the almighty off. Maybe just nothing.
Maybe Nancy was never supposed to be birthing babies.

I think things just got all jumbled up,
A whole mess of pinks and stuff.
One kid got the yellow cancer gene.
Oh no, wait, all the kids got that one.

Dead kids make life pretty messy,
hang in there Clara.
But I'm afraid you are,
you were,
and you will always be an orphaned mother.