[New-Poetry] Poems by others: "Wedding Cake," by Naomi Shihab Nye

[JforJames at aol.com]

Wedding Cake
 
Once on plane
a woman asked me to hold her baby
and disappeared.
I  figured it was safe,
our being on a plane and all.
How far could she  go?
 
She returned one hour later,
having changed her clothes
and washed  her hair.
I didn’t recognize her.
 
By this time the baby
and I had examined 
each other’s necks.
We  had cried a little.
I had a silver bracelet
and a watch.
Gold studs  glittered 
in the baby’s ears.
She wore a tiny white dress
leafed with  layers
like a wedding cake.
 
I did not want
to give her back.
 
The baby’s curls coiled tightly
against her scalp,
another  alphabet.
I read new, new, new.
My mother gets tired.
I’ll  chew your hand.
 
The baby left my skirt crumpled,
my lap aching.
Now I’m her secret  guardian,
the little nub of dream
that rises slightly
but won’t come  clear.
 
As she grows,
as she feels ill at ease,
I’ll bob my knee.
 
What will she forget?
Whom will she marry?
He’d better check with  me.
I’ll say once she flew
dressed like a cake
between two doilies of  cloud.
She could slip the card into a pocket,
pull it out.
Already  she knew the small finger
was funnier than the whole arm.
 

--Naomi Shihab Nye, Fuel, Boa Editions,  1998




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