Sunday, January 31, 2010

Poem #31: Hibernation

A tiredness long as shadows in the sun.
Breathing slows. Eyes roll.
Heart beats a holding pattern,
remembers first love. Legs twitch
and sprint through grassy fields,
hands cup petals and creek water.
This test-run for death. January
somnolence. Second gestation.
Laying down in hollowed-out darkness,
moon rays casting, nature’s snow
blankets covering, soundproofing.
Snow quiet. Just before the stretch,
the yawn, the new dawn, the pencil
to paper—the poem, the song, or child
who becomes the mother of a child
who becomes the mother of a child
who becomes the mother of a child.

4 comments:

  1. Oh, girl, you didn't just refrain!! I love it, love the repetition, I'm inspired!

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  2. Wheeee! What a great piece, C! I love "This test-run for death. January
    somnolence. Second gestation." Oh, and that ending is just stunning, so bold, so good, so right. See? - this is why you had to write past 30. :)

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  3. I forgot to mention that my kids are studying hibernation in their nature class - they're completely taken with the idea.

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  4. Caroline, you must submit this one somewhere.

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