look at this, she said,
and she held up the baby gate
with missing feet
she found leaning against a garbage can
outside a neighbor’s house.

this will be perfect, she said,
for my grandkids:
gorgeous little toddler boys
who visit from time to time.
in fact, they were living with us for a while,
along with our son,
their father.

the thing is, she said,
our son has gone missing
and he took the boys;
there's drugs and theft and lying
and we had to kick him out.
we just want the babies back.

and now, look at this, she said,
rattling the gate at me:
i was out walking, and
someone threw this away!
for them it was trash,
but for me it’s an act of faith,

and she hurried down the street
with a rickety prayer tucked under her arm.