When my brother gets married, he will be a Ms! my daughter announces at dinner. I explain that he will always be a Mr, even if he marries.

You are a Miss until you marry, I tell her, and you either keep your surname and use Ms, or if you marry Mr John Smith, you become Mrs John Smith. Hello? May I please speak with Mrs John Smith? This is met with much hilarity.

Your brother will never be Mr Jane Smith. Can you imagine? Hello? Mr Jane Smith? Now they are all calling for Mr Jane Smith, and their father leaves the table.

Lara Frankena

 

Lara Frankena’s poems have appeared in publications such as Free State Review, Unbroken and Midwestern Gothic.

© 2021