Nikki Grimes - A Girl Named Mister

I’m scared to death.

And by the way,

there’s an alien in my body

bent on ripping me apart!

When will it end?

I float in a river of sweat,

this baby too stubborn

to come out.

Don’t know

how much more of this

I can take.

I’d keep crying, but

I just don’t have

the energy.

Oh, God!

Here comes another

CONTRACTION!

I can’t take this! Why doesn’t somebody

just slice me open like a melon

and get it over with?

My immune system’s resistance

is nonexistent.

I’m wracked with fever,

the tail end of a cold

fanned into full infection.

A film of gunk

covers each eye,

but so what?

Right now, the only thing

I want to see

is this baby

out

of

me!

One more push

I didn’t know

I had in me.

And then

that blood-soaked eel

of a human being

finally squirts out of me,

his cry

the only sound

strong enough

to drown

my pain.

Call it amnesia,

this sweet something that

erases all traces

of birth-pang memory.

I welcome the peace

that blankets me like fleece.

Outside my room,

the social worker waits

for my decision.

I take my time,

stare into love’s eyes,

and count each finger, each toe.

No math

is more beautiful.

I name him Mine,

if only for a moment.

What was it

Sister Pauline said?

Mary trusted God.

Yes.

Yes.

This book had a long and circuitous journey, and many helped along the way.

First, the manuscript passed through the hands of editors Donna Bray, Arianne Lewin, and Jacque Alberta. I thank each for her part in helping to shape the story.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to Ginny M.M. Schneider and Gina Marie Mammano V. for reading early versions of the text. Your honest, intuitive response was a great encouragement.

Thanks, always, to my agent Elizabeth Harding, the best partner and cheerleader an author could have.

Finally, grateful thanks to Amy Wevodau Malskeit, who put in countless hours critiquing various drafts of this novel. Amy, words fail.

I hope I did you all proud.

New York Times best-selling author Nikki Grimes is nationally renowned for her children's works and poetry. Nikki was the recipient of the 2006 National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.