The Baby
Only, they wouldn’t let me settle anywhere,
the baby with me, and the thought
of having to feed it constant in my mind.
I thought I’d sit against one wall but
some boys said it was their playing corner.
I found a different room where I could
sit on a sofa, but soon they moved me
along. They were holding an official
prayer meeting there. No one would have me,
nor give a thought for the baby.
I was always shuffling along from one
room to another, belonging, yet a refugee.
There was no place where he could thrive.
He was deprived of air and blood.
Eventually I went to my mother’s house
far in a foreign land where I blended in
with everyone. It was chaotic but no one minded
the baby, and I could nurse it.
In any case, it was only in my custody
for a while, not flesh of my flesh,
but a temporary charge.
the baby with me, and the thought
of having to feed it constant in my mind.
I thought I’d sit against one wall but
some boys said it was their playing corner.
I found a different room where I could
sit on a sofa, but soon they moved me
along. They were holding an official
prayer meeting there. No one would have me,
nor give a thought for the baby.
I was always shuffling along from one
room to another, belonging, yet a refugee.
There was no place where he could thrive.
He was deprived of air and blood.
Eventually I went to my mother’s house
far in a foreign land where I blended in
with everyone. It was chaotic but no one minded
the baby, and I could nurse it.
In any case, it was only in my custody
for a while, not flesh of my flesh,
but a temporary charge.