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Baby Boy
Right now the side of his face rests against my belly, skin to skin, his warmth magnified by mine. It is a wonder, an absolute awe-filled thing, that just days ago he was on the other side of me, tucked away and unseeable, a secret. Elliot. Elliot with the head full of hair. Elliot with the fifty-eight eyelashes. Elliot with the rounded nose that dips into rounded cheeks that slope to the tiny chin that quivers when he cries, lifts when he smiles in his sleep. A landscape. Elliot. Tiny boy so like and unlike all the other boys who have been born before. So like and unlike whatever small person I imagined my own son to be. Perfection is a rare if not impossible thing, but how could he not be, right now, so young, so soft, exactly as he is here, breathing in and out, making the sounds that all mothers and fathers know as first-speak. Secrets. He is revealing them to me, unspooling them by the minute, by the number of his sighs, and they tangle around my legs and body until I am war
Delightful, Emily! Enjoyed your poem and its accompanying images, especially the last!
ReplyDeleteThanks, ladies. Such a beautiful time of year. :)
ReplyDelete"When the wind rises,
ReplyDeletecrabapple blossoms
fall as fingerprints
on your back."
Outside of the photographs (which are wonderful) these words evoke a lasting image that I will not soon forget. Thank you!
The pleasure was all mine. I was telling a friend the other day that there are few things that make me happier--deep, deep, face-in-the-petals-happy-- than crab apple blossoms.
ReplyDeleteThis is really lovely. Thank you for a post that brings beauty into my day.
ReplyDeleteEmily:
ReplyDeleteYou can say so much with so few words. Your poetry is graceful. You and William Zinsser wrote the book on "concise".
"...the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components." - Zinsser.
As a writer, you inspire.
Rich Havenga
That's my aim, OMW!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks, Richard. I can't say I'm always the most concise writer in the world--in fact, much of my writing tends to be of the loooooong sentence variety, but I fully appreciate the compliment. Zinsser is great!
These are Fabulous!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photographs, Emily!
ReplyDeleteThank you both. And thanks for taking the time to comment. :)
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful. My grandmother had a crab apple tree in her front yard, in front of which all family photos were taken -- eventually it was cut down due to disease, but I still feel it's fingerprints...as I feel my family's. Thanks for this post, and that image, Emily.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for helping me add the direct reply button, Erin! :)
DeleteAny time! And it made me feel much more tech savvy that I really am. ;-)
DeleteCoupled with the subtle light of spring in the images, your few evocative words have lifted my skies this afternoon. Thank you...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful in simplicity. Words and photos.
ReplyDeleteErin: When I think about it, each important home in my life has a tree that I associate it with. They're important figures in our lives, aren't they? And those blossoming trees...at least for me, they leave an unforgettable, brilliant mark. Thanks for sharing your own connection.
ReplyDeleteJulian: You're welcome. Glad that we have this one big sky in common.
And thanks for commenting, Audrey. This poem was actually a remainder from my Roadside Poetry drafts. Might you have a few leftovers, too?
This is lovely! I also like that it's short - long poems can be overwhelming for a person who doesn't read them often. And the photographs with it are so great. Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
ReplyDeleteI've found that short poems can cross that sometimes suspicious divide for people that don't read poetry often, and I'm glad this one did something like that for you. Thanks for being here, Gretchen!
ReplyDeleteI love your photographs Emily, they match your writing so well.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Valerie! Happy to have you here enjoying them.
ReplyDeleteVery nice. It takes a blustery day to leave that fingerprint... the calm days are not always as memorable.... EMB's pa
ReplyDeleteSo true. This is an insight that will stay with me as I watch the petals fall this season. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI miss my Iowa crabapples - and the cherries, too. Your photos and words, taken together, evoke them beautifully. Taken separately, each element is wonderful. Together, they're like a great song, lyrics and melody together.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. What a beautiful compliment.
ReplyDeleteEmily -- Beautiful photos and verse as usual! It's been a good spring here for crabapple, lilac and other flowers, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pics that leap from the page and remind us of Spring.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Jeff. Gorgeousness all around.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks, J.D. Glad you found your way here!
It´s a beautiful time in the year.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it? Spring love goes deep.
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