Tu BiShvat is on the way
Returning to rabbinic school

Read Write Prompt #112: the narrative wallpaper

2AM FEEDING


Moonlight slants across the floor
as I scuff down the stairs to your yellow room

you've thrashed loose from your swaddling
and scooted halfway down the mattress

fists clenched and mouth open
in a caricature of fury

the moment you attach your face goes slack
and unconcerned, eyes shut, one brow raised:

tiny Vulcan, commenting with a silent gesture
on humanity's quirks and misconceptions

what will you recall of these long nights
when I watched the moon cast shadows on snow?


This week's prompt at ReadWritePoem is #112: the narrative wallpaper. The poem I wound up writing is set against the backdrop of my son's nursery, which has yellow walls adorned with Ghanaian adinkra symbols. (The color isn't meant to be a subtle commentary on my mental health, I swear!)

Anyway, this is part of my ongoing series of mother poems. Thanks again to all of you for reading, and especially to the RWP folks who are gracious enough to read & comment here even though I'm not yet able to make time to read and comment on what y'all are writing these days.

As always, you can see what others did with the prompt by checking out the links in the comments to this week's get your poem on post.

[feeding.mp3]

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