Poetry: Cradle and All by Taylor D’Amico
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We adore this new poem by Taylor D’Amico—how it flirts with the sonnet form, how it maneuvers so gently between the delicate subjects. “Cradle and All” announces an arrival for D’Amico: a poet here to stay.
Cradle and All
I cradled the weight of a honeybee,
her thread-like legs clung to my chest,
gripping my shirt like an infant flexing
her hands. Her body, an air swept ounce,
felt heavy on my breast, and I wanted
to keep her there,
my dear droning daughter.
And once, my son, I held your humming
body in the comb of my womb, shielded
within my bones, until you awoke, startled
by the world. Your weight— a hundred bees
in my arms—pulsing and alive. I’ve tried
to carry you, safe in the branches of my arms.
But one of us will fly before the other is ready.
I can only bow my arms; hold steady.
Taylor D'Amico
Taylor D'Amico is assistant poetry editor for Five Points and worked as production editor for Muse /A. She earned her MFA at Georgia State University. Her work has appeared in America Magazine.