Return to Top of Page
Menu
  • Close
  • About Us
  • Past Issues
  • Contributors
  • Donate
  • Opportunities
  • Staff
  • Submissions
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Literary Mama
  • Current Issue
  • Archives
  • Departments
  • Blog

Poetry | June 2010

Poem to My Seven-Month-Old Daughter Ending with Two Slightly Altered Sentences from The Book Thief

By Tricia Asklar

A giraffe at my right hand,
a piece of bread, a cup of water.
After a day of chores and child
entertainment, a space heater
at my back, I write with three women.

One swings you around the room,
your sounds trilling back to me.
The language I must understand–
the magnetism of fish, the wash
of carrot puree around a tray.

The evening spreads into our goodnight
time–your other mother in San Antonio,
you asleep on triple blankets on the wood floor.

At 13, you’ll scream, “I wish you were dead.”
We’ll write you a letter cataloging your injuries
to give you later. I’m sorry for Rochester,
where fingers split in the winter, where
the sky is like soup, boiling and stirring.

A mountain range of rubble is written,
designed, erected around you.

1 reply on “Poem to My Seven-Month-Old Daughter Ending with Two Slightly Altered Sentences from The Book Thief”

thunderlanesays:
June 21, 2010 at 3:12 pm

this poem by Tricia is comforting to the lovely girl she is writing this poem for. In later years your daughter will ask about the poems and letters you leave her, and through the website othwer boys and girls.

Reply

Leave a Reply to thunderlane Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share This Page

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Copy Link

Tricia Asklar

Learn More

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Don't miss out on Literary Mama news and updates

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • RSS

© 2021 Literary Mama | Search Site | About Us | Staff | Submissions | Privacy Policy