September #2

Create Speak Surrender

Create the space

in the heart

for an incoming love.

Speak the words

that cement it all

in a small diamond ring.

Surrender to the machine

that is wedding and family

and the dress, above all.

Create the space

in the body

for an embryo.

Speak the idea

into silence

and mother's disapproval.

Surrender to the machine

that is pregnancy, baby,

and the pedestal of  motherhood.

Create the space

in the marriage

for two babies, and a breakdown.

Speak the words

that all is ill, broken,

the truth of neglect.

Surrender to the machine

that is divorce, aloneness,

and a sheaf of bills.

Twenty years later,

and the hard work,

the break, the regrowth

is done.

Creation is poetry.

Speaking is unnecessary.

Surrendering is time with grandchildren.

Making love is both easier

and harder,
the second time around.

— Helen Patrice