Jackie Maugh Robinson

Think Again

When I was five I got a new doll for Christmas exactly like Janis. She had eyes that matched her cornflower blue dress, ringlets of red hair and unbend-able legs.

I didn’t like her. Janis, not the doll. Her legs flexed just fine. But she could get away with talking back to her parents as I often wanted, but would never have dared, to do.

After Christmas, I worked it out that since we now had identical dolls, it was okay for me to be exactly like Janis. So, one day, I said to my mom, “No, I won’t. You can’t make me.” She promptly gave me a couple of firm swats for sassing and put my doll in the closet for a week.

She was all wrong about talking back. Janis, not my mom.

harsh winds
disturb the reflecting pool
January moon