Under the Table
they say I was too young but I remember
Mother in the upstairs bedroom, Aunt Frances with me in the kitchen, keeping me out of the way. They say Jessie was born at two a.m. but I remember the kitchen bright with sun when her first cry made everyone stop.
The squalling. I knew it was a girl even before Grandma and Aunt Melba came running downstairs.
Already I knew: this wasn't the sister I wanted