You And Me
by Tais Lintz

Heart of mine
beats
in concert with yours
tiny rhythms
sound of life

Soul of mine
embraces
concealed child
with love
in bond of our own

Mind of mine
imagines
into wonders of nascence
in reality
of this miracle

A Mother's Night Music
by Leslie P. Garcia

The children snore.

Lying awake at night,

Listening

To the indrawn breaths and sighs,

Memory tugs.

I remember

Other nights, clutching the baby

To my heart,

Hoping

The love went through and pierced

The lurking demons

Ravaging her breath.

Then, too, I laid awake long nights,

Afraid

The morning sun

Would warm

An empty crib.

But God and the years

Abolished

That moment’s terror;

The motor purr and coughs of sleep

Are reassuring hymns of night.

And though their lives

Are not finished,

Not mine—

Just rough works

Awaiting

Master strokes—

The symphony of snores

And smiles evoked by unknown dream

Are what there is of me

That’s good through time.

I Can Be a TV Mom
by Sheryl McCurdy

Soon they will be home
and I haven't even made the brownies
or mixed up the Kool-aid
the milk is still puddled
on the placemats from morning
where has the day gone
wasn't I just awakening
or even just going to bed
how can time go so quickly
what mark have I made
and I'm tired...just plain tired
wanting an hour
just to nap or read
the flutter of activity will be full force
for about ten minutes then
abandonment
the friends the TV the Nintendo
will invade the house
I will stir up brownies
mix up Kool-aid
vacuum the carpet
take some Motrin
set out plates and glasses
pin an understanding smile on my face
when the pre teen rolls her eyes
and the youngest begs for friends to stay
and the middle one storms around because he is exhausted
from staying up far too late
I will be a TV Mom for a few minutes
a perky Mrs. Brady
wise AND blonde
patient and forgiving
full of damn good advice
if I can
because I know it won't be long now
and they will be flying away from me
gone
just like that

Drawing Water
by Zoe Richardson

I'm struck at times
By flashes of daylight
All I do not know
Clear and walking next to me.
I am swimming through
A frozen slush of words not said.

Sometimes I feel
The double yoke of responsibility
Bowing my neck with
A full bucket of need on
One side and an almost empty
Bucket of supply on the other.

I want to drop these oaken weights
Abandon all for a little freedom
And yet there are words that
Anchor me, hold me here,
Little arms that reach,
Righting me when I stumble.

Share and Become
by T.R.C. Beaver

The pictures become evidence
and I am guilty
of being older
of having two son's
grown now to the age
I thought I would always be.
How is it they have become
young men before my eyes?
The little boys in the pictures
smile from the thin flatness,
the past almost tangible is
a banquet of memory,
the aroma of yesterday
thick and sweet like fruit
grown over ripe, the season passed.
I watch in loving awe and wonder
as they discover the journey
that is their own unique path
and I am proud to know them
as we share and become who we are.