Red Clocks

by Leni Zumas

The wife made persons. No need to otherwise justify what she is doing on the planet.

Okay, yes, kids are built adorable so they won’t be abandoned to die before they can survive on their own; but it is also true that some kids are more adorable than others.

Dear baby, I love you already. Can’t wait for you to get here. Your hometown is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever known. Full of ocean and cliffs and mountains and the best trees in America. You’ll see for yourself, unless you are born blind, in which case I will love you even harder.

How much of her ferocious longing is cellular instinct, and how much is socially installed? Whose urges is she listening to?

Her life, like anyone’s, could go a way she never wanted, never planned, and turn out marvelous.

By walking, she tells her students, is how you make the road.