Not a Metaphor

Not the phone’s jarring interruption
in this moment of wonder—

not Dad’s late night news
of our sudden loss of my teenage sister, Alix,

not this huge, black-winged bat circling us
as I clutch our newborn daughter, I birthed alone.

Not a simile, this child with traces of blood
on her arms—nor these stained sheets

I rose from moments ago in hope
of sharing joy so pure I couldn’t feel my feet.

Not this bat flapping so close
to the seat of my rational sense, this shadow

of death that makes me duck, as I hold
my baby, still nameless, to my chest.

Laura Foley is the author of seven poetry collections. Why I Never Finished My Dissertation received a starred Kirkus Review and was among their top poetry books of 2019. Her collection It’s This is forthcoming from Salmon Press. Laura lives with her wife among the hills of Pomfret, VT.