Between The Lines :: Karen O'Connor
FINGERPRINTS (On Canvas) :: Karen O'Connor
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Inside Out

You show me your belly
and demand to see mine
poking the soft white flesh
you steal a pinch
watch the colour change
putting your ear to skin
in quiet concentration, listening
for a trace, a murmur, a sign.
You fashion your head
laying down on a different spot
disappointed at the nothing inside me.
You raise your hands to your shoulders
palms upwards
level your long lashes
and shake your two-year-old head
all gone?
And you are wiser than all the adults
seeing more in my silent innards
than they, with their years and education.
Yes, I say, covering my shame, all gone.
But you have already forgiven me
plucking your dodi from its dangling chain
you take ... one ... long ... suck
then offer me your comforter
knowing, right now, how much I need it.

All Poems © Karen O'Connor 2011 - No works can be redistrubted for public use without prior consent from the author

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