my dolls are mute
sipping tea things
and talking about the weather in my head
hoping for a parcel that day
news from the old country
will there be a visitor to receive?
my dolls are old fashioned
and silent
but they think they are modern
because tea time is different every day
and lemonade in summer

my dolls are mute
sipping tea things
staring at flour water
cake creations
i made them myself
what shall we do today?
in my musty basement
problems are easy to solve
when baby’s head falls off
i put it back on with a paperclip
my dolls are mute
their voices in my head
but you can’t tell me they don’t listen
eyes that don’t move from your face
know your thoughts without words
convincing me in silence
they give me no reason not to believe
they don’t understand me

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Beth Mulcahy, a gen X-er from Dearborn, Michigan, lives in Wooster, Ohio where she works as a lawyer for a company that provides technology to people without natural speech. Beth lives with her husband, two teenage kids and loyal Havanese dog sidekick. When she isn’t lawyering or parenting, Beth loves to travel and write poetry, fiction, and memoir.