Amelia Lennon
This House's Sounds

For once I stay awake while you lay
Soundly on the bed.
The airy exhalations I know
As my nighttime lullaby would
Coax me into other worlds,
But now my eyes are wide,
Feasting on the countenance of
Solace that I know comes
Rarely to you.

Your empty arms fold across
The place I should occupy
Beside you.
Your sleepy breath resounds
In a house filled
With the whispers of shuffling to the bathroom,
The living room, the kitchen table;
Filled with the rustle of pages turning,
The swish of two souls brushing by
One another.

This house wants new sounds.

And I know when he comes
He will sound like this, at first.
And he’ll look like this, too.
Curled in the cradle,
Perfect fingers spread
Beneath a face that looks like
Yours and mine.

But his short pants will
Play pizzicato on the strings of our hearts.
His cries will pierce our sleep,
Setting the tune awry.
And we’ll both run to quell his fears,
Satiate his growing desires,
Restore a rhythm.
Then the three of us will lay
As you lay now.
One plus one plus one makes three.
One, two, three,
One, two, three.
One
Two
Three.

<< Back to Issue 8, 2005