In Utero, In a Pandemic
When I say I love you, you know exactly what I mean, that this, our love, our family, is a small, fierce revolution.
You look like Bane
Give me your city
Do you have an appointment today?
Oh, no, I’m with her
Sorry, you’ll have to wait outside or in your car
Tell me everything
Californication
Do you want to FaceTime and see Wilder?
Here’s the head and the curved body
Holy shit, is that the spine and ribs?
Look, arms and legs. Those are some beautiful thigh bones
Hopefully, Wilder got my thighs
Californication
Californication
I’m scared babe, I don’t want you going into homes, so many people are dying, I don’t want to lose you and Wilder, I don’t want any of us to die, I can’t stop crying, Odie just howled at the mailman, I received a package, what a whirlwind of emotions
I don’t want to hurt Wilder
one, two, three, four, five, g-r-e-e-n, you will become the greatest basketball player of all time
Do you have your mask? Your gloves? Your hand sanitizer? Your wipes?
You’re pregnant! What were you doing box jumps for? Handle with care
No, not really
Californication
I met someone. It was an accident, I wasn’t looking for it, it wasn’t on the make. It was a perfect storm. She said one thing, I said another, and the next thing I knew, I wanted to spend the rest of my life in the middle of that conversation.
Is she showing yet? Can you tell she’s pregnant
This isn’t fair. We only just found each other.
What is it? I’ve been a doctor for twenty-eight years and I’ve never seen a baby this active
I should follow herWhat are your favorite baby names? I think at our wedding it will just be you and me and Lord Huron on repeat.
blood is thicker than water
I hope Wilder is happyYou don’t deserve a happy ending, this will all go away soon.
I love you
Marisa Crane is a writer, basketball player, and sweatpants enthusiast. Their work has appeared or is forthcoming in Joyland, No Tokens, TriQuarterly, Passages North, Florida Review, Catapult, Lit Hub, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. An attendee of the Tin House Workshop and Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, they live in San Diego with their wife and child. They are the author of the novel, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself (January 17, 2023, Catapult).
Enter your email address to receive notifications for author Marisa Crane
Success!
Confirmation link sent to your email to add you to notification list for author Marisa Crane
More by this author
On Writing Into Your Fears and Anxieties
We as people, especially those of us with anxiety disorders, spend a great deal of time playing the “what if” game. We are, in a way, already playing with fiction. Why not channel our imaginations and extend our “what ifs” to the page?
More in this series
A New Light: How My Daughter’s Pregnancy Made Me Rethink Adoption
An unexpected pregnancy, a birth, and a family reunion.
The Art of Letting Go, As an Artist and a Mother
Like a drawing is and is not mine once I’m finished with it, my son is not mine, not really, because he is himself.
Taking on the Feminine Labor of Creating Holiday Magic
I can’t give up the invisible labor of making “holiday magic” because that’s how I feel closest to my late mother.