TAKING APART THIS LIFE
By: Sean Devlin
- Barbara Bretting Poetry Runner-up
My mother was reclined
in the chair and the lamp still lit
as I stepped closer to kiss her goodnight
the floor creaked and she shifted in her sleep
I froze with my feet arched on the carpet
The yellow glow of the light
sunk deep in the wrinkles of her face
and she breathed quietly with calm exhales
Her shirt caught in the folds of the chair
I saw the pink lines on her stomach
Scars healed over years demanding my growth
A door only meant for one exit
If I were back inside her womb
my veins surging with blood
next to hers behind the walls of her skin
I could feel her heart pulse with mine— in sync
No dirt would ever darken my fingernails
I could hold her from within
stabilizing her center of gravity
and I would only know what she wanted me to
I could re-stitch her skin
She gave me a full thick head of hair
I could give it back to her
and we could live on as one
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“MAD GRANDMA” By: Annie Noel
“SILVER BOWS” By: Annie Noel
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