From Breast To Mouth
Free Verse Poem
What does a mother do
with the absence in her arms?
When the unconditional need of her
is gone. Where does she go
for solace? How does she
replace the touch, the cuddles,
the laughter? How does she forgive the rage
when it all felt like too much?
When her breasts get squashed
in the X-Ray machine she remembers
these gems were for growing a life
making every ailment alright.
But now, walking out of the waiting room
having been giving the green light she
knows one of these women beside her will be delivered
the news “mass in left breast. no family history of it.”
Where does she go with all this?
She goes home and takes an epsom salt bath — remembering the nipples when they were cracked — remembering the warm compress — remembering when she finally embodied the wisdom of her body from breast to mouth.
Breathe & Be Still ©2023
Often when I write a poem — as the words trickle into mind — there is a certain melody I am hooked on. It’s not necessarily a connection to the lyrics (though sometimes that occurs) but mostly it’s a tone, an atmospheric presence, a rhythm that I am spiraling within — helping to propel me from one line to the next.
Thank you to Zay Pareltheon and Samantha Lazar and to all the writers who are keeping this very special pub afloat in it’s time of transition. I look forward to keeping the fecundity of Scrittura alive with all of you.
