POEM
Lullaby
Amanda JerniganMy little lack-of-light, my swaddled soul,
December baby. Hush, for it is dark,
and will grow darker still. We must embark
directly. Bring an orange as the toll
for Charon: he will be our gondolier.
Upon the shore, the season pans for light,
and solstice fish, their eyes gone milky white,
come bearing riches for the dying year:
solstitial kingdom. It is yours, the mime
of branches and the drift of snow. With shaking
hands, Persephone, the winter’s wife,
will tender you a gift. Born in a time
of darkness, you will learn the trick of making.
You shall make your consolation all your life.
Source: Poetry (December 2005).
This poem originally appeared in the December 2005 issue of Poetry.
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Amanda Jernigan is a contributing editor of the New Quarterly and Canadian Notes & . . . MORE »
