Monday, September 18
“I longed for sleep but couldn’t bear his crying
so bore him back and forth until the sun rose
and he slept.”
Debra Spencer knocked on the door of my imagination this morning, asking “are these words enough that you can pay attention?” A mom and her infant, two moments of holding him, the grace of a change in perspective. Some poems speak to human awareness at its most sensual, this one is deceptively simple. So, for sure, best to read it out loud, with pauses, at least two times.
Have a blest beginning of this work day, the fourth, I think, in the McNichols campus semester.
john sj
Today’s Post – “Day Bath”
for my son
Last night I walked him back and forth,
his small head heavy against my chest,
round eyes watching me in the dark,
his body a sandbag in my arms.
I longed for sleep but couldn’t bear his crying
so bore him back and forth until the sun rose
and he slept. Now the doors are open,
noon sunlight coming in,
and I can see fuchsias opening.
Now we bathe. I hold him, the soap
makes our skins glide past each other.
I lay him wet on my thighs, his head on my knees,
his feet dancing against my chest,
and I rinse him, pouring water
from my cupped hand.
No matter how I feel, he’s the same,
eyes expectant, mouth ready,
with his fat legs and arms,
his belly, his small solid back.
Last night I wanted nothing more
than to get him out of my arms.
Today he fits neatly
along the hollow my thighs make,
and with his fragrant skin against mine
I feel brash, like a sunflower.
“Day Bath” by Debra Spencer from Pomegranate. © Hummingbird Press, 2004.