To My Child Poem by Liberty Smart

Pale is the silence that surrounds me
Not creamy, but stark
Like your voice
A crows call in the middle of the night
Dark is your hair as it falls across my breast
Long and lank
A colts legs
Skittering over my skin when you shift in your sleep
I long to hand you the truth of your making
But untrue I shall continue to be
Sometimes I cry when you smile in the dark
It helps relieve the pain of this secret life
I no longer wish to hold you close, but I cannot give you up
I think I love you too much
I used to be happy, once, before you came
You broke me in, wild nature torn and tamed
I come to your call, tame hound, I
I don’t think I’ll ever stop
Though I tug at the bit, tug and pull, champ and chaff
Try to free myself from your easy grasp
A light touch on the reign, you