Sunday 26 January 2014

A Day in the Life


Run Holly Run!

Inspired by the idea of flooding social media with poetry, I decided to throw my own creation into the rising waters ;) Write what you know the wise ones say, so this one is a reflection of my current days 'bringing up baby'. I hope you enjoy.

A Day in the Life 
(working title)

We awaken
In the dark
Last stars fade
Daylight creeps
Get up stand up wake up sore back
Pull the blinds
Let day begin
Let dog out do her business
Wash my face and watch it fold
Lift the baby
Change the baby
Smile into her smiles
Warmth of joy at being
Mindful princess.

Alannah to play-station now
Radio on classical
Boil the kettle
Feed the dog
Sweep the floor
Do few jobs
Wake the house
Pour the milk
Oats swell up to meet banana
Eat over-looking winter’s garden
Robin’s work is never done
Alannah cries time for feeding
And then she sleeps
Tea for me
And I pretend to be a writer
For half an hour
And work on a novel too old to be called novel.

Sun is shining
When she wakes again
Illuminating cottage kitchen
Change the baby
Happy smiling chatty
Then I feed her
Tiny toes wriggling as she latches on
All casual like
And then she’s not interested
Down on her mat on the floor
And I do a few things more
And then I play with her because she’s bored
Get the keys and lock her up
Lock her up, lock her up
Until heart-breaking cry that only we know
Mammy, Mammy I’m falling - help me!
Holding my hand holding hers
Mother’s best to soothe her
Fall into that darkest space
Where she won’t see me feel me need me
Losing mind to sleep.
And then I pretend to be a writer
Check my email, FB, Twitter
Anticipate the weather
Turning cold and misting sky
A solid roof of grey.

Holly prowls
Time for walkies
Dog leads our circus to the wood
Three musketeers
Together breathing
In the cold
Alannah’s face to heaven
Discovering sounds - ooos aaas
Delivered up to twigs and branching
Beech and towering oaks
Hovering over
Seeing through the canopy now
A tired head falls on my chest
This time peaceful
No telling signs
And I fall into my stride
And I wish that this would never end
This special time
Being mother and best friend
Her cold bare hands in mine
I stare into giant oaks that live
In timeless mystical world.

Holly staying close
Sniffing out woodland clues to
Reddest squirrels
Other musketeers
She looks to tell me with most
Honest of her trickster eyes
We must go back
Home through big open field
For that is where she gets best runs
From over top of hill
Rounding fence and back to me.
And so we go home through big field
Holly reaches for her peak
Run Holly run!
Helicopter ears -
Woosh woosh
Tongue bouncing
Mind rushing
Happiness pulsing
And then we must cross the fence
And Holly waits to go back under
Lead fastened.
Around the bend through castle gates 
Holly pulling us along
Meeting friendly faces
Everybody wants to talk
Or catch the eye of brave a leanbh
Who might gift unto them
Four and a half month baby’s wisdom and the smile
Emperors would bleed for.

Home in gentle raindrops
We walk around the garden
Blackbird following in robin’s steps
I wonder is it time to dig again
Heaving off wellies and coats
Carrying Alannah
Quick change quick feed
She sits and thinks in bouncy chair
Time maybe for another little sleep
I look to evening sky to say
Prize-winning story comes tomorrow
But I will think on it today.

Yogi salutes the sun, and Ted ;) 
yogi bears
Coffee time for me now
Savour last forbidden drops
Hope she sleeps until
Coffee has been drunk
And mother’s milk is cleansed
And then she wakes all smiles again
And then it’s one more time upon the mat
Watching me salute the sun
And I might contemplate a run
As skirts and leggings become less fun

Blinds pulled now
January’s sun is set
Heating on ‘til fire is lit
Dinner preparation at its get
And he asks, what would you like?
And I say, oh I don’t mind
And he says no - what would you like?
And that is when I must decide
And I watch as spice man cometh
And daily bread begins to fold
Aromas revealed
Cinnamon, fennel, cumin, cloves
And I am hungrier than ever I was.

Eating now
Silence mostly
She watches on
From buggy first and then my knee
And I don’t know what she sees or
What she thinks
This and every time.
Eating done
Coffee for him green tea for me
Baby feeds and cries until
Nighttime is too heavy to hold
And she is tumbled down
To summoning sleep

Our time now
We sit and watch until
Tiredness kicks in
My turn now to fight the sleep
One more time she drinks
Half awake then back to sleep
A tender hook in
Rudolph pajamas too cute for her not to wear
This late in January.

Mother lies beside
Trusting bundle of the softest sighs
Wondering
What was it like before she began?
Doors open and close
As he lets Holly out
Sound of his toothbrush
Before we wrap together
Musing to the weather
Tired comfort whispers
Glad for
Silences between
Precious in absentia dramatic
That everything is as it is.

And then it happens
At a time
To us unknown
Only silence of sleeping
For there is no-one now to listen
Three have journeyed past the hearing
Surrendering helplessly unto
Heavy weight of day and night
We fall our separate ways
Back into darkness of light
Back to where it all began
To where it all begins again
For this is all there is
We three are one
Of billions
One

This is all there is.


Catherine Wilkie
26/01/2014

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