{"id":2401,"date":"2017-09-18T00:00:29","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T04:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/mission-and-identity\/?p=2401"},"modified":"2019-09-18T16:46:48","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T20:46:48","slug":"sept-18-debra-spencer-two-moments-while-holding-the-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2017\/09\/18\/sept-18-debra-spencer-two-moments-while-holding-the-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"Sept 18 – Debra Spencer — two moments while holding the baby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday, \u00a0September 18<\/strong>
\n“I longed for sleep but couldn’t bear his crying
\nso bore him back and forth until the sun rose
\nand he slept.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debra Spencer knocked on the door of my imagination this morning, asking\u00a0\u201care these words enough that you can pay attention?\u201d \u00a0A mom and her infant, two moments of holding him, the grace of a change in perspective. \u00a0 Some poems speak to human awareness at its most sensual, \u00a0this one is deceptively simple. \u00a0 So, for sure, best to read it out loud, with pauses, at least two times.<\/p>\n

Have a blest beginning of this work day, the fourth, I think, in the McNichols campus semester.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

john sj<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Post – \u00a0\u201cDay Bath\u201d \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

for my son<\/em><\/p>\n

Last night I walked him back and forth,
\nhis small head heavy against my chest,
\nround eyes watching me in the dark,
\nhis body a sandbag in my arms.
\nI longed for sleep but couldn’t bear his crying
\nso bore him back and forth until the sun rose
\nand he slept. Now the doors are open,
\nnoon sunlight coming in,
\nand I can see fuchsias opening.
\nNow we bathe. I hold him, the soap
\nmakes our skins glide past each other.
\nI lay him wet on my thighs, his head on my knees,
\nhis feet dancing against my chest,
\nand I rinse him, pouring water
\nfrom my cupped hand.
\nNo matter how I feel, he’s the same,
\neyes expectant, mouth ready,
\nwith his fat legs and arms,
\nhis belly, his small solid back.
\nLast night I wanted nothing more
\nthan to get him out of my arms.
\nToday he fits neatly
\nalong the hollow my thighs make,
\nand with his fragrant skin against mine
\nI feel brash, like a sunflower.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Day Bath” by Debra Spencer from\u00a0Pomegranate<\/em>. \u00a9 Hummingbird Press, 2004.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday, \u00a0September 18 “I longed for sleep but couldn’t bear his crying so bore him back and forth until the sun rose and he slept.\u201d Debra Spencer knocked on the door of my imagination this morning, asking\u00a0\u201care these words enough … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2401"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2404,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401\/revisions\/2404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}