#BlaPoWriMo: Baby

Slick with afterbirth
is how I remember him—
if a moment can be
counted as a memory—
and Sir bragging that
he bred his finest,
will make him a
fortune, sell for more.

He was out of my arms
before he opened his
eyes, out of the room
before I heard his cries.
The delivery was hard,
I couldn’t move, couldn’t
work any. They let me
alone. I liked that—

For a time.

But it hurt to be still,
and when the milk came,
I had no mouth to feed.
So I got up, went
searching, found you.

You reached for me before
I bent to pick you up,
raised my blouse before
I laid your head on my breast,
closed your lips around
the nipple, and I called
you baby.

I call you baby.
Until one day when
I will call you Sir.

© 2018-2023 Nortina Simmons

Originally published February 2, 2018.

---

Welcome to Day 2 of Black Poetry Writing Month (aka BlaPoWriMo)! BlaPoWriMo is a month-long challenge to write a poem every day during the month of February (Black History Month) related to Black history, Black people, or the Black experience.

Today’s optional prompt is: Share a poem you’ve written in the past (maybe for a previous BlaPoWriMo) or write a poem set in the past.