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Martha’s son drowned in her
neighbor’s swimming pool
but he came back to life
all sputtering chlorine and red faced

she brought it up in bible study
said they need better supervision
but she clarifies
she’s happy the lord returned her baby

when it happened a second time
Martha was tanning herself on the side
she rushed in leaving a trail
of oil in her wake
something the boy gurgled up
when she brought him back to life

she stopped letting him
go to the neighbor’s pool
despite his insistence he had
learned pool safety, a lesson
from his two misdeeds

she relented in the month
her son back to swimming
underneath the eyes of an ignorant god
so she said
but what could she do
to make her baby happy