Friday, February 17, 2017

Prognosis (Poem for Naomi, written around 2011)

Infinitely complex
Untenably marred
Boundlessly resilient
This child in my arms

Swollen belly
Crooked feet
Crossing eyes
Murmured beat

Liver scarred
Kidney cysts
Endowments of
A genome glitch

Devalued, dismissed
I cradle my girl,
Shielding her spirit
From a misjudging world

Which gene encodes
Her gift for art,
Her passion for books,
Her merciful heart?

What nucleic acid
Could portend
Her affection for horses
Her first best friend?

And which base pair
Might empower
Her compassion for
A frost-nipped flower?

Which locus holds
Her giddy smile?
What helix encrypts 
The soul of a child?

What white-coated Einstein,
What world-wide reserve
Of human insight
Can presume her worth?

Infinitely complex
Untenably marred
Beyond their prognosis
A child in my arms


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