Poetry

Poetry

Infancy

We start off
as infant solipsists.
We are all that exist,
and our sensations.

We sense hunger
and wetness
and if these senses don’t change
we emit another
existential scream.

We perceive an image
we will later call
a face
and as it changes
we feel happiness
we might hear sounds,
or make sounds
in response.

We perceive
another image
which we will later call
a breast.
As it appears to get larger
feel have other sensations
on our lips
in our mouth
our throats, our bellies.

The sense of hunger abates
and sleepiness arrives.

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Birth

With a push and a plop
we come into this world
a sticky mess
of needs.

With a slap on the back
we take our first breath
and let out
our first existential scream.

Without the team around us
we would not make it
through the first day.

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Attentiveness

My right eyelid twitches.
Am I stressed?
Am I overtired?
Am I lacking some vitamins?
Is it something else,
or just a coincidence?

I think back to my cough
when I entered certain rooms
after certain discussions
or meals.
Allergies?
A nervous tick?

What else is my body telling me?
What are the things around me
I need to pay more attention to?
What else do we all need
to pay attention to?

The weather?
what’s along the road?
a friend’s sigh?

And how do we do it,
observing,
waiting,
and not obsessing?

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The Last Evening of Winter

The sun has now set on the last evening of winter.
You can still see
a little sunlight
on the top most branches
and the remaining snow
reflects
the last of the light.

The family dog
sleeps on his bed
like he had all afternoon
even though
the sun
no longer warms his back.

In a nearby nursing home
an aging man
laments
the death of his sister
while he holds onto his hope
of going home.

On a distant road
a young family
continues their journey
to a new home
far away.

It is time
to turn off the news
and read a good book.

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The Toddler’s Psalm

I lift up my arms to the Lord
like a toddler wanting to be picked up.
In a toddler’s voice I cry out
I’m hungry, and You fed me
I’m angry and You calm me
I’m lonely and You comfort me
I’m tired and You give me rest.

You pick me up
and hold me in your warm embrace
and I rest my head on your chest.

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