T. Anders Carson
A baby crying
It is heartfelt to hear
that mighty wail.
Is it a breast that is needed,
a burp, a change?
Perhaps the need
for a quiet rocking by the fire.
A wail, a wail, a wail.
It sends messages of adrenaline
through every shred of humanity.
A sound that you could easily protect.
A cry that beckons swords to be drawn
and ancient pagan words muttered
before a bloodbath battle.
Some parents stuff cotton in their ears.
Shoving them so far inside
that blood drops slowly
form on the soiled damper.
Others place the child
in a basket on the dryer
and cranking it to high
hoping the baby’s crying will give in
before the electricity bill
crumbles their tight budget.
Others drop them off at mother’s
and watch that silent smirk
of I told you so,
but many prefer to suffer in silence.
To let the baby cough its lungs
reaching an ecstatic pitch
and feeling the caress of wailing
blinded by sadness.
If only the pitch could be understood.
If only the cry could be seen as beneficial.
Alas,
when without consecutive hours of sleep,
trying to please a family that is mostly
forgotten,
trying to realize that children need to be
children
and crying helps release
those varying degrees of discomfort
that this life so surely gives.
Page(s) 67
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