Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan
Swallowing Stones
I have been swallowing stones all my life.
I am an artist at it.
The first was on the day I was born.
The need to draw breath, to fill my lungs,
to cry out, was muffled.
Daily I was spoon-fed stones.
How does one so small protest?
My wails misinterpreted as a need for more.
As calendar pages turned I grew and swallowed,
swallowed and grew.
No amount of swallowing
could accept all that was shoved in.
My belly near bursting I learned how to expel.
By double digits I found my voice,
to testify the years of stones
doled out as if dessert.
With children of my own swallowing stones
came with different reasons.
When my oldest boy was cut down
I swallowed jagged glass.
All those stones and time
helped smooth the rough edges.
For forty-three years
I have been walking this road
I paved to arrive here to you.
I am an artist at it.
The first was on the day I was born.
The need to draw breath, to fill my lungs,
to cry out, was muffled.
Daily I was spoon-fed stones.
How does one so small protest?
My wails misinterpreted as a need for more.
As calendar pages turned I grew and swallowed,
swallowed and grew.
No amount of swallowing
could accept all that was shoved in.
My belly near bursting I learned how to expel.
By double digits I found my voice,
to testify the years of stones
doled out as if dessert.
With children of my own swallowing stones
came with different reasons.
When my oldest boy was cut down
I swallowed jagged glass.
All those stones and time
helped smooth the rough edges.
For forty-three years
I have been walking this road
I paved to arrive here to you.
Page(s) 30
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