Cáit Ní Dhonnchú

Small Animal, Mother Animal

I broke open – and
Little pieces of shell, sharp
Flew from me-
Around and fell.

Inside, the soft down
Of a young animal – I
Beak open wide
For its mother – I

Bring it gold
Bring it food
Bring it wish

And all it wants
Is – I
Promise, that has always
Been.

That I and it are one.
Small animal, mother animal
Holding each other
Throughout the storms.

Thank you the small animal says
As we lean into one another.

Back,
Back,
Back,

As
One.

Cáit Ní Dhonnchú’s recent essay The Right To Bleed was published in The Medusa Project e-book Anthology edited by Juliette van der Molen and Megha Sood. Her poems have appeared in print, online and broadcast on radio. She tweets @CaitNiDhonnchu