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
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!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your poem showcasing the journey of your son from infancy to adolescence. The details are wonderfully specific about the maturation process.
ReplyDeletebitter twist, certainly. Until that circle starts over again. Then it's just rewards.
ReplyDeleteLove the changes, sounds like you have a teen in the house! I remember saying to my mom, just five more minutes! Sweet poem, Heidi.
ReplyDeleteI love the details and numbers you've used to share his growing up!
ReplyDeleteLove the details, the wonderful progression here -- true and heartfelt but not sentimental. :)
ReplyDeleteHeidi--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.
ReplyDeleteFrom "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!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line is "catching little minutes of your best self." May your bigger boy continue to catch these minutes!
ReplyDeleteI love how the boy's personality seeps (and sleeps) through this poem.
ReplyDeleteHuff 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.
ReplyDeleteGreat 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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ReplyDeleteSounds so familiar! I have a twelvish boy of my own!