Wednesday’s Child

I was not born to be happy…

no bright star shone down on me
when I was dropped headfirst into the world
red-faced, kicking, and screaming
and placed in my mother’s arms—
the only true home I’ve ever known

instead, a dark star witnessed my birth
stepped out of hell’s black hole
took me in its cold bony hands
and christened me “Wednesday’s Child”
damning me to a life of woe

not for me fair of face or full of grace
a clumsy witch with frizzy red hair
who mounts her broom
and beneath an a ghostly moon
runs wild with the night

night understands, night knows
what beats inside my heart
what tangles and twists my soul
it doesn’t question, doesn’t judge
night is my beloved familiar

there’s a certain comfort in failure
a happiness inside misery
a pleasure in absent feelings
for a Wednesday’s Child
who has serenely accepted her fate

for…
I was not born to be happy

©2026 Kate Wolfe

Both poem and monochromantic watercolor are several years old. The poem is one of my favorites of the many I have written, and I think the watercolr painting pairs well with it.

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