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Poetry | January 2019

Daughter (Dis)Connected

By Kristin Bartley Lenz

I huff into her room, hackles
raised, determined
to confiscate
that damned device, but
she smiles, pats her bed.
I stretch out beside her, slump
into her pillow, a puff
of strawberries and sweat. “Look,”
she says, head turned
toward the window. Together
we gaze, two birds nestled
at the breast of towering
trees, feasting on fiery fruit
swimming in syrup. Limbs sprout,
branches fork cotton candy
stretched by sticky fingers, a sliver
of moon skewered. I stroke
her forehead, smooth
her hair, cradle
deep into soft down.
Sixty seconds, sixteen years.
A kiss on my cheek. “Mama?”
She presses
into my palm
the cold curse.
“Will you plug this in?
It’s dead.”

5 replies on “Daughter (Dis)Connected”

lisa momblancosays:
January 16, 2019 at 7:13 am

Beautiful, truthful, sweet poem!

Reply
Adrianasays:
January 18, 2019 at 4:31 am

Reading this the morning after my first daughther’s sixteenth birthday! Beautiful, thank you

Reply
Kathysays:
January 25, 2019 at 7:02 am

Lovely and funny too. Very nice.

Reply
Kristin Bartley Lenzsays:
January 28, 2019 at 6:56 am

Thanks for the kind comments – glad my poem resonated! And thank you Literary Mama editors for publishing my work!

Reply
Suzanne Kamatasays:
January 31, 2019 at 4:43 pm

Lovely images! And so relatable!

Reply

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