Friday, September 19, 2014

bittersweet twist

To my 6th grader

oh little boy
chubby baby who woke me at 5 every day
who taught me to rise before light
to capture the hour of my best self

oh little boy
bony 1st-grade early bird up at 6 every day
swinging sticks and pecking at order
catching little minutes of your best self

oh bigger boy
wiry twelvish boy grown tall on a diet of
filthy fingernails, outrageous belches,
lengthy detailed days of strategination

oh bigger boy
now, when you must wake at 6 every day
you huff and snorfle, make unrising noises,
fight me for two more hours of sleep

Heidi Mordhorst
DRAFT 2014

13 comments:

  1. Oh, Heidi. This journey of your little guy through morning's rising (or "unrising") has me sighing. It all goes so fast, and the way you walk us through the change of just this morning moment highlights this beautifully. May you all sleep in tomorrow! Happy Poetry Friday!

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  2. I enjoyed your poem showcasing the journey of your son from infancy to adolescence. The details are wonderfully specific about the maturation process.

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  3. bitter twist, certainly. Until that circle starts over again. Then it's just rewards.

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  4. Love the changes, sounds like you have a teen in the house! I remember saying to my mom, just five more minutes! Sweet poem, Heidi.

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  5. I love the details and numbers you've used to share his growing up!

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  6. Love the details, the wonderful progression here -- true and heartfelt but not sentimental. :)

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  7. Heidi--as always I love your magical use of language--pecking at order, catching little minutes of your best self, twelvish boy, huff and snorkel, unrising noises. I know those noises all too well.

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  8. From "chubby" to "bony" to "wiry" - oh, the joys of growing up. I can say the path to getting enough sleep for both mama and child is still a challenge in our house even though my girls are 17 and 11. Thanks for sharing this gem today, Heidi!

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  9. My favorite line is "catching little minutes of your best self." May your bigger boy continue to catch these minutes!

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  10. I love how the boy's personality seeps (and sleeps) through this poem.

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  11. Huff and snorfle! I'm going to start mumbling this when my alarm goes off in the mornings! Love watching your son grow up in this poem.

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  12. Great word choices, Heidi! "strategination," "snorfle," "unrising." The funny thing is that my husband is a lot more like what you describe here than any of my kids are!

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  13. Sounds so familiar! I have a twelvish boy of my own!

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Thanks for joining in the wild rumpus!