Ordinary Intimacy

You're probably not going to remember much
Of the way things are
Your small bodies
And enormous minds
Growing daily.

And maybe because I don't remember much of my own early years
I am captivated by the beauty
And love the ordinary intimacy
Of the little stage:

The way our bodies curl together at nap time
Your hands tangled in my hair.
The way your papa cradles you gently as he carries you to bed.
The way you throw yourself fearlessly into my arms
And wrap arms and legs about me in a hug.

I pray this for you:
That you will know this again.
That you will find yourself smitten
With the astonishing everyday delight
In the deep and familiar beauty
Of being a family with littles.

A shard, a shiver

We need
The ache and awe and thrill of you.
No other god
No lesser master
Can satisfy the yearning for
Your fierce might,
Your infinite bright mystery.

Your holiness
Pierces
And we shudder
Crouched in the softness of Your paw
Trembling in terror and joy
At
Your
(Our!)
Closeness.

We were made to bear this awe
In tiny glimpses -
Shadowed and refracted glory -
It takes our breath
And leaves us weeping
Mad with love for you.

Goodnight, K.

The way your eyelashes
Drift down, down, down,
Up,
Down,
As you fall asleep in my arms
Causes a tightness around my heart

Right there where you lay your head.

Homecoming

An ache,
The creak and grind of tires on snow
Air snapping with cold
And moonlight.
What is it
About winter
That trembles with some silent longing?

On Mothering, Sometimes

I have felt flat

Stale

Tired, like an afternoon classroom full of already-breathed air.

30/16

Day 16- Respond to the poem you posted yesterday with a poem of your own.

He hasn't stopped turning water to wine
Since that beginning, that marriage, that joy -
He still hides it in jars filled with water,
And servants witness the miracle - 
It appears in the pouring forth.

So He hides it in my day,
In the ordinary tasks, the tiresome and mundane -
He hides it in me, and suddenly His joy,
When I stoop again to care for you -
Comes pouring forth, excellent and sweet.

30/15

Day 15 - Post a poem (written by someone else) that you love (for any reason).

Measure thy life by loss instead of gain;
Not by the wine drunk, but the wine poured forth; 
For love’s strength standeth in love’s sacrifice;
And whoso suffers most hath most to give….
-Ugo Bassi