New Baby
by Ralph Fletcher
from Relatively Speaking: Poems About Family
Soon as the baby gets born
before she’s two hours old
people start dividing her up
“She has Daddy’s big ears”
“Got Grandma’s double chin”
“She has my olive eyes”
like she’s just a bunch
of borrowed parts
stitched together.
Well, I just got to hold her.
I touched her perfect head
and I’ll tell you this:
My sister is whole.