3 AM. Another night spent awake and alone, shaking in the memory of my child screaming and pushing me away, recoiling from me. Health Visitor says this is Night Terrors. What has he seen that has blighted his tender mind so? Thought of Sylvia Plath's poem 'Child' and borrowed heavily from it.
Child,
you scream in fear and recoil from me.
Have I unguarded let you look
into my infinite churning despair?
Did I fail to silence an anguished wail?
Once we imagined meandering tales
in bedtime shadows and warm yellow lights,
we flew with dragons of faraway magic
and soared with the moon on the wing of a giggle.
Am I now the ceiling without stars
That haunts your clear eye?
warn you did of the bleakness in advance. can't say anything could prepare me for this..
ReplyDeletei loved these lines though..
"we flew with dragons of faraway magic
and soared with the moon on the wing of a giggle."
My heart goes out to you and ur baby, keep the faith dearest...
ReplyDeleteHi quaintkal - the bit you like, here's where they come from:
ReplyDeleteShrek is Seth's favourite film and he talks about the dragon and the battle with Shrek and the donkey all the time. And I tell him a bedtime story about the moon taking him on a great big adventure journey that makes him giggle every time.