Joint second prize

Motherhood

(after Diane Arbus)

Hold your baby close.
Call her treasure trove
precious gem.
I know you mean it,
let me tell you she will
suck you dry for now,
with that faraway look
in those coal- pit eyes.

I will tell you this also:
one day, years from now,
she will suck back your
tears as no one else can,
cup your head in her shapely
hands nursing you to a safe place.

By Wilma Kenny