Leave the window open, just in case
take me to the lagoon where mermaids hum and
fairies fly I
remember the address second star
straight on till
mourning has taken its toll
echoing agony
becomes my only alarm clock
you used to read me to sleep, rub my back, whisper prayers
I told you stay until I fall asleep
you fell asleep first
no matter how many times I clapped or
yelled I believe I believe I do believe
your eyes did not flutter open and I was stuck in a
land where children must grow up
Dogs do pick a favorite
i wake up to you
licking my toes
when i sit on the couch
you snuggle your head atop
my thigh unless you
decide to sulk on her chair
at lunch-time you
nudge my arm reminding
me to re-fill your water bowl
i always forget
your hair has clumped
into knots and I can’t find
where she last placed the brush
i rub your neck
and notice how you
hold tension there too
do you sleep all the time
because you have
migraines like me?
are the streaks
under your eyes a
stain of your breed or
unceasing tears?
you curl up and
pout on a blanket if i forget
you’re supposed to get
a treat after you poop
and call you “good girl”
the way she would have
you sit alert by the sliding-glass-
doors watching waiting wondering if
she is at the store or blowing leaves just
20 feet from where you now perch
i convince you to grab
a toy i yank it you pull it from
my hands victory spin which
distracts you for a little while
by night-night time as
you lick my ears before
settling under the covers
i think back to when
i wasn’t your first choice
when your little body didn’t
saturate my bed with heat
because a night with me was
only a last resort
Addy Sigmon is a student at Lipscomb University, elbow-embracer, experiences the frequent migraine, and is unaware of the term “inside voice.” When not writing poetry, she indulges in memes, scolds children at the local elementary school, and grows her collection of “borrowed” cafeteria plates.
