Poetry
1 min
My favorites
On Motherhood
Emily Wolf
Time doesn't stop when you have a baby
Instead, it accelerates
The nights that drag on in exhaustion and anxious feedings
Turn into days that melt between your fingers
I'm ever searching for a way to slow it down
But the calendar keeps turning
You used to be inside me, warm and cramped and heavy
My life burst into new being as you made your way into it
Counting nursing sessions and dirty diapers
Tracking endless numbers as the hours slip away without a whisper
The blue glare of the TV at midnight as we binge new shows and snacks
Heavy eyelids as I listen to you breathe, grunt, and coo
Heart skipping beats from exhaustion, each beat a ticking clock
The smell of old, sweet milk on your breath
Your little head a fountain of youth
Milk drunk smiles and tiny clenched fists
Each finger like the hands of a watch
Your sister drawing pictures on a hot driveway
Then throwing leaves in the amber glow of the sun
Jackets donned as we take a sunset walk
Our breath going cold as the sky reminds us
That time doesn't stop
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