Mother by Zvi A. Sesling
from MOTHER: a PUNK NOIR Magazine series
Mother
by
Zvi A. Sesling
They always said my mother was different. But what if my mother was an alien? I mean she looked like any other Earthling with long blonde hair; dark brown eyes and the kind of figure that made Earth men turn their heads. However, she came from another planet.
Seriously, there was a big to-do about a meteorite or comet or something landing in Montana thirty years ago. They found a few pieces of it and some paddle-like footprints. About that same time a woman named Jenny Reardon was out hiking north of Fishkill. When she returned, her husband said there was something different about her.
Despite her being an alien, mom got pregnant and nine months later, I was born. Dad died shortly thereafter and mom became a single mother. I admired how she could do the work of four men and hunt for food like a native. She could also forage for herbs, mushrooms and the like. We lived in our cabin; the school bus got me to school on time. But the day finally came when mom died. She suddenly stopped eating dinner, looked at me and began disintegrating. I saw a flash of green and then nothing.
Bio:
Zvi A. Sesling, Brookline, MA Poet Laureate (2017-2020), has published poems and flash fiction and won international prizes. A five-time poetry Pushcart Prize nominee, his flash fiction books are Secret Behind The Gate and Wheels. His story “Chili Man” is Pushcart nominated. He and his wife Susan J. Dechter live in Brookline, MA.
How fun ....