A
word of warning: this Sunday, May 11, is Mother’s Day. Buy a Hallmark Card,
dammit! Or, if you and your mother have a special sort of relationship, I guess
you could share these stories with her…
A.M. Homes’
tells the mother of all tales:
“She
had a dressmaker split the center seam, separating her so she could walk, and
went through life with her legs covered in thick green scales, a brocade,
fossilized by the sea into leathery chaps like a cowboy would wear. Men found
her scales incredibly attractive; it was considered good luck to rub her
thighs. They all wanted only one thing, to get into the space between the
scales, the alligator purse that had been perfectly protected. The sweat of
their palms stung her skin; she found them repulsive.
She
moved to Massachusetts and took a part time job
doing women's work sewing tassels on loafers in a shoe factory.”
...read “Your Mother Was a
Fish” in its entirety, here.
You’re more into poetry, you
say? Check out “My
Mother’s Penis” by Carissa Neff. Don’t forget the batteries!
And if you love funny-sad,
smart-sexy-strange (who doesn’t?) check out Lisa Carver’s
personal essay, “All About My
Mother.”
And
The Modern Materialist brings you a scary way to put the disembodied
voice of your mother inside your refrigerator…
