Whatever Happened to Baby J ~ poetry by Christina M. Rau

Whatever Happened To Baby J

I remember that black circle
spanning two pages of the TV Guide.
The question was about falling
into a hole that small, or it may
have been a statement. Either way
unfathomable. And also, what kind
of well was that anyway?
All my well knowledge involved
a circular brick structure, a bucket,
a rope, a pulley system to raise water;
Dear Liza and Dear Henry singing
about how the bucket had a hole and
how to fix it, the lyrics a circular
conundrum; Jill and Jack tumbling
downhill, and now I wonder why
a well was on a hilltop, proving
my well knowledge remains limited.
Though the made-for-tv movie
touted by the TV Guide with
the two page spread of a hole
taught me
how to rescue a toddler who wanders outside
how to dig and drill an adjacent shaft
how to listen for sounds of baby crying
how to hold a lungful of breath when crying doesn’t come
how to let it all out and cheer when crying erupts
what to wear to crawl underground
how to weigh a rescue against dislocating a child’s limb
how to convey horror and joy
how leaving children unattended in a backyard even one without a pool risks more than
imaginable.
And every few years, photos—
a toddler, a teen, a young girl living a life
like all the other girls who hadn’t gotten stuck.
And now the baby is 40 in an orange jumpsuit
and somehow the well experience seems to be
the reason for all actions and the reason for all forgiveness.
Eight inches wide. Twenty feet down.
Fifty eight hours. How a body holds that.

Christina M. Rau, The Yoga Poet, leads Meditate, Move, & Create workshops for various organizations worldwide. Her collections include the forthcoming Women in Space! and the Elgin Award-winning Liberating The Astronauts (Aqueduct Press). She moderates the Women’s Poetry Listserv and served as Poet in Residence for Oceanside Library (NY) 2020-2025. Her poetry airs on Destinies radio show (WUSB) and appears in various literary journals like Carmina Magazine and Porcupine Literary while her prose has appeared in fillingStation and Reader’s Digest. During her downtime, she watches the Game Show Network.