The auditorium empties

And I shed my cloak

To sing

“Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

There’s a land that I heard of

Once in a lullaby”

My white beard covers a swollen

Belly from all the milk I’ve

Been drinking

“Somewhere over the rainbow

Skies are blue

And the dreams that you dare to dream

Really do come true”

Eyes sinking low and thinking,

How can I give birth to

A baby?

“Someday I’ll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far

Behind me”

I was told when I was ten

That I could be whatever

I want

“Where troubles melt like lemon drops

Away above the chimney tops

That’s where you’ll find me.”

Try to be a mommy in a world

Like this. Cloudy, broken

And mean

“Somewhere over the rainbow

Bluebirds fly

Birds fly over the rainbow

Why then, oh why can’t I?”

Crazy, outrageous, scream.

No one can see me

For me

“If happy little bluebirds fly

Beyond the rainbow

Why, oh why can’t I?”

“Grandfathers can’t be mommies,”

Somebody broke

My dream.