They say that God Himself designed the space between a mother and her child. It is the perfect distance for the eyes of a child, focused on a love that should anchor them to a fixed point in an unfixed universe.
The bond of a mother with a nursing child establishes the language of the unspoken, irrevocable promise–I am here and because I am here you are safe.
–Dame NP Doxia, A Dragon’s Guide to Raising the Human Child, pg. 7b
Ask them is
What would you say to your uncles
if they had ears to hear?
For a long time there is silence
Then they say
Why didn’t you fight for us?
Speak for us?
And your aunts?
Sigh.
no dog should mean more to you than a child
That comet dust would make me
Think of you
All dazzle-y and luminous
Because of wandering
Light
your eyes
hold all the
Cities of the world
And their lashes
Each borrowed
From distant ashes
Come from burning infinite
Suns
Of heaven will be fierce
With the smudgy lines of
Zinc oxide slashed across their faces
War paint angels
Colorful
is that food coloring?
No. But it is washable
After play time
After recess
After our snack of apples cut in even slices
Rich in a new color–
colors
Vivid
Will be my new name
When I get there
I will use the injunction you taught me (joy)
C’mon, let’s go play
Some days I almost forget it is there
Protruding as it does
Through my sternum
La-la-la I think
For about, um, 30 seconds…
Then it all comes back
When you say oh, I don’t do that anymore
Like it was a hobby you grew out of
Or…oh, the movie was fun
Like you are at summer camp with your pals
I must breathe
Which hurts the freaking sword
In-my-chest
When you..
When you..
Oh that is right
You don’t remember
You will need to barter or hire wet nurse services from a suitable goat, sheep, or human mother. The former are a powerful temptation (as they are delicious either au natural or roasted) and the latter tend to look askance at the whole endeavor.
Either way it is essential that baby is held and nurtured constantly which means the diligent dragon parent will have to curtail extraneous treasure hunting and um, forego red meat in general.
Your diet will be altered in the process, but remember, these wee humans are worth the effort.
Of course most of us do not have either the apparatus or inclination to nurse a human child. We are mostly reptilian, serpentine, not given to Mother’s milk, but as many of you know we she-dragons possess powerful magic.
If a dragon wishes she may allo-lactate with some perseverance and even one distant mer-mother or griffin in the family.
You will need to consult charts and checklist for nursing in appendix b.
The dragon sighed. Sounded complicated.
Smash something?
Use words
Strong as stone
Words like justice and naked
Truth
Heavy as the grave
Turn and face
The monster of loss
Spectral hunger
For a fame without weight
Women sell their souls
Like dogs in the broad daylight
We will not survive;
Our souls might
Is a cage
Bars of iron and carbon
Our bones and the teeth of
The dragon who bore us
Sown into earth
Dust we are and dust we shall be
Through the steel barrier
Of memory
We eye freedom in chains
And paw at the irretrievable arrow
In our ribcage
It started with the baby tossing a new testament into the toilet. It went downhill from there. Everyone has times when they feel hopeless, when they feel lost. I write this, but I don’t know, some people seem pretty darn self-confident.
Sigh.
Sometimes I wish I could unspool things, undo them, un-live them. I cannot, so instead I write about them to attempt to make sense of them. Sometimes it goes so dark even writing feels futile–no one is listening, no one cares
About what? Inappropriate magazines at grocery checkouts. So bad I avoid taking my kids to the store. I complained, others have complained. The magazines got worse. The store is owned by Christians
About what? My son looked for his favorite PBS show on yahoo video and was sent to a page with two clips from the show and an array of hard core porn. I complained but what good will it do?
Really. I believe that no child in this country should be exposed to porn of any kind and I feel like a voice in the wilderness.
This is an election year. Is anybody listening? Does anyone care? Our children are not safe in the grocery store, at church, looking for educational shows in their own homes. Our children are not safe.
Oh, and the new testament? Jesus descended into hell before for me. He knows the territory. He knows what He is doing.
He knows this stuff hurts…
Like hell.
