The Mother Gets Life

// Joellen Craft

Note: All italicized phrases come from articles about mothers
sentenced to life in prison for the murder of their children or
who died alongside in a murder-suicide.

The mother gets life is a sentence
like It wasn’t like normal At first

it seemed unfathomable and She planned it
all along are sentences

of known and unknown variables
like in math where we agree

what’s given and what we’ll allow:
given x     let y =

so to learn what mother = you
could ask: if mother = ( stayed

with the children ) / ( the edge )
is it true a vehicle

carrying a family
– ( being told when ) =

mother + ( great anguish ) ?
Remember to isolate mother

by taking away ( great
anguish ) from both sides

to check your work     and to solve for it
start with knowns: it’s given ( to make

a sound ) = ( in a clean
outfit ) + ( an oversight )

and ( please I need help ) = ( unfathomable )
x ( pure acceleration )

and we know ( bolted inside )
= ( please I need  help ) /

( to make a sound )
so if we let ( a fleeting moment ) =  [( to let her

anger out ) + ( on a short trip )]
given ( a fleeting moment ) = ( the most

extreme separation ) and ( please I need help ) /
( unbearable ) = ( a cell )

+ ( she was also prone to )
we can state ( unbearable )

= it / [( in a clean outfit )
+ ( an oversight )]     which means ( the most

extreme separation ) = ( please I need

help ) / ( she was also prone to )
which means we know unbearable

can be expressed as it /
( to make a sound )  but if we let mother

= ( in her own lake
of fire )     does it =

( unbearable ) ( to make a sound )
or ( to make a sound ) ( unbearable ) ?