03/15/02

		'suckle'

I walk up on the body
of my mother
having left the sweet, warm
safety of her busom

She would hold me forever
if she could
but knows it would break
my heart

She cannot protect me
as she once did
and then, also, it was
my choice
to go free

But with the lessons
I have learned for Her,
to teach my brothers...
I have finally had my fill
of sorrow

For that thick, sweet, viscous
liquid upon my tongue...
for all its depth, richness,
and life...
I now realize was my own blood.

It is now the light of joy
that shines upon me.
And having crawled from
the cave of my womb
I will have no other
that can shape me so.

			© Andrea K