COLLOQUY ( for Emily )
In the circle of your small illness
The words come together, syllable by syllable.
You move against my wakefulness,
Kept separate by your illness and,
For the first time, knowing it.
39 degrees and the night unnavigable.
I am extinguished for you, Emily,
Adrift where language begins,
Five stars falling
Towards your ocean.
Silence now is for the drowning;
This night and all others
I will sing your boat in to shore.
Yes, a bit sentimental. I've just sent the girls off to their dance recital and eyes were rolled when I mentioned putting a photo of them on the blog. I wasn't exactly banned, but I figured posting a poem was safer :)
Visit the wonderfully named Miss Rumphius Effect to see the whole Poetry Friday round-up.
Loved those last two lines - they capture exactly the feeling one has nursing a sick child through the night.
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