Thumbelina

A few people have mentioned that they have enjoyed my poem Thumbelina, so I thought I'd post it here in case anyone else fancies casting an eye over it. It was first published in iota magazine a few years back, and is also in my collection Candling the Eggs. I'm rather fond of it as it was the first ever poem I had accepted for publication.

 

Thumbelina

Last night I had a

baby. She was tiny -

even smaller than my

thumb.

Her heartbeat fluttered

mothlike in my palm.

The cot was vast. Instead

I laid her in a  matchbox,

nested her in scraps of silk,

and scattered unstrung pearls

for her to play. I slid the

cover closed so she’d be safe.

Then I forgot I’d had a

baby. Life went by. Emptying

my locker, wondering

why am I at school? my

fingers found an unfamiliar

box, light as the moon.

Inside: my baby, dried

out like a leaf, her hollow

cheeks transparent, and

her tiny hands like claws;

a paper husk now sighing

into dust.

In morning’s  pallid light I

heave myself from my

uneasy bed. Inside me you

remind me you’re still

there.

 I don’t think I

can do this.

Sally Douglas