Roafie
by Craig Kirchner
There
I was swaddled, seeking warmth,
being
scrutinized and adoringly held by my mother.
I
would become many things,
many
different things to her,
but
at this moment I am a new bundle of life,
with
all the anticipated fingers and toes,
vulnerable
eyes and a need to sleep.
It
was just another day to the attending nurse,
the
nursery was full, but my mother
was
holding her miracle, her first, carried
so
carefully for a significant part of her life.
I
would have liked to have been there,
or
be able to remember, to have been able
to
have shared her awe, her unconditional love.
Now,
I write about moments, most remembered,
beautiful
and ugly, but my most important moment,
I
don’t know, not at all, never discussed it with Roafie.
When
asked, as I was recently—What would you
do
differently?— I now have an answer.
I
would have found a moment, the time, to discuss
birth,
my birth, our moment, with my mother.
Craig Kirchner is retired
and living in
Jacksonville, FL, because that’s where his granddaughters are. He loves the
aesthetics of writing, has a book of poetry, Roomful
of Navels, and
has been
nominated three times for a Pushcart. Craig's writing has been published in Chiron
Review, Main Street Rag, The Wise Owl, Yellow Mama,
About Place Journal, and dozens of others. He houses 500 books in his
office and about 400 poems on a laptop; these words help keep him straight.
More about Craig can be found on Bluesky, and there is an interview up at Spillwords.
