My Mother Could Write Lines for Fortune Cookies

Your father may think you’re a genius.
I know you’re not. #77

You have many outfits that make you look thinner.
What you’re wearing now isn’t one of them. #206

Dye your hair. Go much lighter. #95

You don’t make any mistakes,
but marrying the village idiot?
That was a lollapalooza. #89

Only you have the strength
to withstand divorce. #91a

Only you have the strength
to raise a toddler on your own. #91b

You need more color.
Wear make-up. #86

Dying people always reach
out for their mamas.
You will too. #208

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Barbara Krasner holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the author of three novels in verse for young readers. Her work has also appeared in Nimrod, Michigan Quarterly Review, Consequence Forum, The Ekphrastic Review, Paterson Literary Review, and elsewhere. She lives and teaches in New Jersey.