Poetry in Motion

So I started a little creative writing club with some friends for the summer. We share stories and narratives we're working on and send critiques back and forth. Last week I wrote a poem to submit and decided I liked it enough to share it here on my blog. So...here it is.

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Smoke Rises

I sit low, on the ground
I hear anger rises, like smoke
so I stay down low
My mind breaks for the 5th time
in at least as many hours

I remember that first second
a small head on my wet chest
lifted up, gazing around
I loved you intensely,
saw fire in your tiny eyes

first jolting steps propelled you up
no longer needing a mother’s hand
heading towards perpetual motion
never stopped since
little legs, small feet
so much movement for such a quaint frame

independent, head up and eyes flared
small hands creating so much chaos
my feet take a million steps before 9
and still you run and run and run
I sit in tears and you pat my head

I dreamed you here
wanted you so bad
I stand in constant amazement at your presence
but here I sit, low and exhausted
you sleep above me
I can almost hear the rhythm of your lungs

The beast of rage that so often kicks against its cage
has once again been silenced and shut up
everyday is a fight, but like a rough stone in water
I feel worn down yet somehow smoother

I get lost in the routine, but today, I stopped
I looked at your curls
at your fire-eyes and at your smile
and I felt, so authentically,
the reality of your existence in mine

So I take my break and recharge my brain
thank heavens for bedtime, time out, and
mostly
thanks heavens for my little boy