All these years
I thought ‘barren’
meant of the womb —
but now my body
has threatened me
with menopause
and I realize it
means of the heart.
—Terri Guillemets
motherhood
Death lights heavy
Hummingbird mama
abandons her nonviable eggs —
but keeps checking back
a few more times, just to be sure.
An arm falls from a sickly saguaro
and breaks open on the ground
like a prickly green eggshell —
after decades of desert still-life
a few seconds of death-motion.
But the night breeze is so beautiful
those breezes are — so beautiful
it’s hard not to get swept away.
—Terri Guillemets
This time last year
the shadows are falling the same as they were last year
the early summer calm sounds the same as it did last year
as it did at this same time last year, when the babies died
when the babies died, and the mama grieved for days
—Terri Guillemets
May birds of spirit
mama dove paces the fence-top above her injured baby
it tries to fly with wounded wing, feathers not in sync
she waits, waits through afternoon and into nightfall
as patiently as love itself — life fluttering on the brink
—Terri Guillemets
Radiant joy
Aside from new babies, new mothers must be the most beautiful creatures on earth.
—Terri Guillemets