Ode to a Toddler
Like a
small goblin I find you squatting, unexpectedly, on the kitchen table
Chewing
thoughtfully on a screwdriver .
Nothing
new. A hundred times a day you find new ways to instill
Terror and
make me fear you will be killed.
I wonder
how it could have been that my mornings were peaceful, slow and sleepy
Now so
manic; flustered and panicked,
Chaos never
far from anywhere you are.
Eyes full
of mischief, hands and mouth full of jam, or mud
Or worse –
that scarlet welt welling such new blood.
No quiet.
No respite. Never more will peace be mine.
My boobs no
longer my own, nor my nights, nor my time.
Even the
simple sanction of a shut bathroom door:
Denied me,
or woe betide me!
Everything,
now, is yours, forever more.
Mad
professor hair, a gleam in your eye, a wicked giggle,
New delight
after new delight; tiny bare toes, a soft tummy to tickle.
My life,
never dull, never drear, Now you’re
here.
