Baby Smith

The package from the Hudson’s Bay Company arrives
by Purolator
and the misses opens it up with a rusted
green box cutter.

Inside is a pair of wool baby mittens
with little Canadian flags
on them,
a Gund teddy bear made in Mississauga
and a tiny red hoodie 0-6 months
with: Canada
across the front
and a tiny maple leaf
on the arm.

That is soooo adorable, the missus says,
not enough to have one of our own
but almost.

I agree.
It is adorable.

For Baby Smith
when he/she arrives
and the proud
parents.

Tomorrow we will mail everything off
to Australia,
and send our love.

But until then
we keep pulling the hoodie out
now and again,
holding it up in the air
and smiling.

Ryan Quinn Flanagan is a Canadian born author presently residing in Elliot Lake, Ontario Canada. His work has been published both in print and online in such places as The New York Quarterly, Windsor Review, Vallum, The Antigonish Review, CV2, Horror Sleaze Trash, Evergreen Review, Your One Phone Call and In Between Hangovers.