for Ally Ruth
Cradled in the instinct of not just yet
you are here and I am holding on like a hoary bat
with frost-tinged fur and worry claws clinging
taut with need and frenzied yes I can hold on forever
you under me as we dangle from a tree branch with earth
steady below these three babies beneath with easy turn
of mouth to teat to drink from my dissolving self of years
ago how well-rested I looked in photographs and daisy
like open-faced to the days without the little ones stitched
to me on the underside weary and afraid I might slip up
and ruin you but here my hands run with sinew to wings
so then I may not fly but it’s a trajectory of maybe I can
hold on until the universe makes its way to one point
for a little while more the cells of my membranes and yours
will hold out for this blink of time we call life
"Bat Love" is published here with kind permission of the author.
The ALL Review is pleased to present our How to Live series, poems chosen to help readers navigate these difficult and rapidly changing times.
