CHILD
(To my daughter 15 years later, on Mother's day)
This morning, hunting through the creeks,
For the unfamiliar: the garish shield-bugs
Clustered on the fennel flowers, the elegant
Parasitic wasps, feral pigeons
The praying mantis
At their fierce devotions. You were
Excited, yes, but something else......you ignored
my inquisitions.
Moved by your dark
Reticence, I stooped and held you
A moment in my arms. You smiled
Assureed, I thought. But tonight you ask me
To see you safely to your dreams; to leave
The lamp on while you sleep.
In the still hours
Your cry rings out; and I am drifting
Through a veiled landscape, bewildered by your voice's
Unplaceable resonance. I kneel and push aside
Curtains of rasping foliage: something squirms
beneath a rotten stem. I am on my feet
And running, as you see me living....
I meet you in the half light
Of the long corridor; your eyes glazed, your
Round face blank with orphaned fear. You put
Your arms around me, holding tight
To the worn frames of a wooden door.
--1984/1999
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