Like Mommy

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Like Mommy
by Carl Josehart

“That’s not the way Mommy does it.”
The words sink in and
Daddy
a visitor to the world of everyday life
begins to examine the process of tying a shoe
There is not a more efficient way
of that he is sure
But,
for now,
his credibility as a parent
depends on being able to do it
Like Mommy

Dressing his son
He put on
a sock and a shoe
a sock and a shoe
instead of
a sock and a sock
a shoe and a shoe
Like Mommy

Packing his son’s lunch
he cut the bread
into rectangles
not triangles
Like Mommy

Serving his son breakfast
He poured the milk on his cereal
instead of
letting his son
“a big boy now”
do it himself
Like Mommy

Pondering a morning full of crises
and failed opportunities
He wonders why
the only way
to be a good Daddy
is to be
Like Mommy