My mother-in law tells me
a baby will not come
without music. Says in Sufi
cultures, any woman
who wants to bloom
mother is sent
to dark. She must steep
inside a cave, damp with doubt,
until she pulls song
from want. She must compose
the lyrics to welcome
her child in. And when she returns
certain with hunger,
she must teach
each cousin, neighbor,
family the chorus,
until stranger
and soothe mean
the same. So tonight, my child,
I build my body,
your village. I unfork the river,
water each vineyard, serenade this sea.
I have written this world
for you. Can you hear us
chanting your name?
Kelly Grace Thomas is the winner of the 2020 Jane Underwood Poetry Prize and 2017 Neil Postman Award for Metaphor. Her first full-length collection, Boat Burned, was released with YesYes Books in 2020. Kelly’s poems have appeared in Best New Poets 2019, Los Angeles Review, Muzzle, and more. She is the Director of Education for Get Lit- Words Ignite. See kellygracethomas.com.
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