When I was pregnant
I didn’t buy onesies
a stroller
or small cotton hats.
We still don’t have a crib.
I bought three escape ladders instead
emergency blankets
industrial first aid kit
waterproof ponchos
a hand-crank radio.
I bought scuba shoes and wool socks
and they lie curled up in a drawer
so that every time I open it
I’m startled half to death
thinking they’re hamsters.
I’ve heard it my whole life
we’re in for the big one
any day now
smack dab on a fault line
a funny saying
like we’re to blame
for this volatile rock.
It’s not on the list
but I tucked in a few extras:
a book of short stories
I can read over and over
rippling through me differently every time.
A pen and paper
obviously.
And a letter to my son
in a ziplock bag
just in case.
I wrote it before he was born
a declaration of how much
he was wanted.