Heart to Heart

In the soft blue hovering
haze of dawn you hold
my belly between your
hands and head, soft curls
and rough brush of unshaven
cheek, you whisper in a
voice that is between you
two only, soft and silly
and turning over rocks to
discover what lives beneath.
I laugh; baby learns your Read more »

About the Heartbeat

lost in pounding of
mama’s belly pulse—
first echo of life,
thin vibrato, distant
giggles, tiny chimes,
bouncy balls between
two fused grins,
the wonder of a system
that keeps this sound
safe in unanimously
known and new-found
recesses of body doubling,
body unfurling and
taking what it needs,
filling up,
pumping fuel from
and bringing light to
secrets under skins—
speeding engine, fisted battery,
paper lantern.

by Johanna DeBiase