Poem for Lizzie
a long time ago
you used to bull your head
against my ribs
press your feet into
my backbone and
bend me like a bow
from the inside
you were so big in me
i couldn’t tie my shoes
couldn’t get behind the wheel
of my car
strangers in the supermarket
stopped their carts in front of me
to shout: don’t have that baby here!
and 5 year old seth asked:
how’s your baby
going to get out?
i wondered that too
of course
woke up with every fiber of me
on fire with you
and wondering
how the hell you were going
to get out of me
hard to believe you’re now
a woman
and taller than me
ready to launch yourself
into the wide world
beyond our house
fixing your sights across
this country
to a western state
we’ve only visited once
every day i wake up
with the truth of your
impending departure
pushing behind my eyes
and i have to find you
look at you
to make sure
you’re still here
that your story hasn’t started
without me
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