Habeus Corpus

I remember the last time my Mama

held my hand tight in hers,
as though she could never let it go –
But she did, in the end, although
that very morning
in Uncle Sunil’s little house,
she’d fed Angela and me
and little Mary, who’s only three
And combed our hair, carefully,
tying it up in bows.

We do not understand why
Some keep saying
she’s a hoyden, a bitch,
a shameless slut, a witch,
in vicious hissing whispers:
But we still love our Mama!
And that is all we really know.
How, we wonder, even now,
Could she have ever let us go?

HABEUS CORPUS APPLICATION!
They’d thundered in the Courthouse –
Now, that seemed to be us, because
Mama dragged us forth
through excited, avid hordes:
There was Papa, on the other side:
haggard, unshaven, bleary-eyed!
He glared – was he about to yell?
But: “Pa – paaa!!” Mary cried: he smiled,
we had missed him, I realized !!

The voices rose, His Honour spoke
Mama thrust us over to Papa,
who embraced us, beaming, kissing Mary
Would he kiss Mama? But where was she?
Mama, crying, with her head bowed,
was drifting away through the crowd!

We had all liked Uncle Sunil,
Papa’s clerk; he was such fun,
He was our Special Friend of whom
Mama was so very fond.
And then one night we were whizzing along
in a car that he had brought –
To a lovely party, Mama said –
When Papa was out of town.
(Giggling and chattering away we went,
Never for a moment knowing, then,
That it was the beginning of the end.)

Although Mama loved us dearly,
She could not have kept us: I know –
for Papa told us so.
He said he’d got us back because
Uncle Sunil was a “useless bum”
He wouldn’t keep us long in his slum
He’d chase Mama away when he was done,
Which, said Papa, would be quite soon,
When all her money was gone.

And Mary whimpers all day long,
wakes up in the night, sobbing
As the days and weeks of loss drag on
And she often calls out: “Mamaaaaa!”:
Her face crumpled, questions unanswered –
We older girls were warned:
of Mama we are forbidden to speak –
and we don’t, when we see our Papa’s face:
tortured, closed up, bleak.