The Psychiatrist

by Mariela Griffor

If I remember correctly, I could not cry
until the baby was born. They wanted to shoot him.
I understood why Manuel Fernandez wanted
me to stay at the hospital after the birth.
I never told him anything about the group.
I could not trust him. I had to be strong
for my child. I needed to go to the pump room
and leave my milk. You are suffering a post
partum depression, he told me,
before I shot him, like the many other voices in my head.

Mariela Griffor was born in the city of Concepción in southern Chile. She attended the University of Santiago and the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. She is founder of The Institute for Creative Writers at Wayne State University and publisher of the Marick Press. She is the author of Exiliana (Luna Publications) and House (Mayapple Press).