her hand by anna fonté
hot & solid in my hand, when i hold hers i grip a hunk of liquid crystal baked in sun
it worms into me, swimming veins, up to my armpither
where it curls inside my chest
and so i press her fingers to steady the flutter.
but also, there is the wonder
is it warmth or mine or ours together
that radiates from our grip & into the air around us
to form a pocket of energy, a fierce iridescence
trembling strength?
& when we walk like that, who’s holding whom
her hand in my hand, mine in hers
the place where we meet, the flesh of our connection
no, it is a fusion
& if we wore mood rings, they’d be indigo, inky as the night sky, brimming with milky galaxies & dark holes of ayahuascan wonder, infinite & ineffable, inscribed inside with two simple words:
holding hands her hand.
only stretched out, so the letters touch like we do
h o l d i n g h a n d s
no end, no words, only touching
h o l d i n g h a n d s h o l d i n g h a n d s h o l d i n g h a n d s h o l d i n g h a n d s h o l d i n g
but what am i saying?
her h-a-n-d
& mine
*
This is a poem I wrote for my daughter for Valentine’s day.
Explaining the unexplainable–or trying to, at least–is a fun game to play. I hope she reads it someday.
Happy V day to you all! I hope you get lots of love today.
girl in the hat 
like this, esp the way it’s crossed out
Exing the ineffable. xoox to you!
happy v-day to you too, Anna. this is simply wonderful. thank you for sharing.
Nina! Thank you! And thanks to you for that indelible grandmother.
Happy to oblige… though I pinched it from someone else’s blog! (it was one of those gems a magpie like me could not resist.)
awwww…that was GORGEOUS!
now i wanna write my daughter a valentine’s day poem…even if i am a copy-catter.
the flesh of our connection. i love it love it.
I think I actually wrote it for me, since she’s too young to get it, but still. I hope you write one, Josey. Happy V Day!
I would love to see this on a canvas, as big as my dining room wall.
You, Anna, are an artist and poet extraordinaire.
Thank you.
Oooo. Canvas is a good idea. You just reminded me of an artist I once saw who took pages from books and altered them to make art-poems. Maybe I could do something like that… thanks for the idea! Happy V Day to you, MSB!
So beautiful. Your cross-out device works so well in this heartfelt poem. It’s so hard to write a great poem about love, and you’ve done it. What a lovely gift for your daughter today!
Thanks, CB. She’s not really old enough to understand, but I told her I wrote her a poem she could read one day and she was happy. Happy V Day!
very nice, Anna 🙂
Thanks, Carla– happy V Day! xoox
*swoon*
The ideal V-Day emotion. xoox
Beautiful. Beats the hell out of the “Roses are red” derivatives that I did for my two.
Poems are nice. Any kind. Lucky kids.
So fabulous.
Thanks, Karen!
Love the part… “who’s holding whom?”. Gorgeous 🙂
Thank you, Alarna. I’m glad I remembered the m in who this time.
“fierce iridescence… flesh of our connection… union, a fusion.. ayahuascan wonder.. infinite & ineffable…”
I love the feel of these in the mouth.
Anna, I felt this one in my bones… Simply masterful. You. Are.
Happy belated Valentine’s Day to you!
Lisa! Love to you– we didn’t get to make Valentines this year, did we? I miss you. xoox!
Reblogged this on Handkind Study and commented:
her hand – a wonderful poem written by a mother for her daughter for Valentine’s day…
Thank you, Hester, and visiting your beautiful site has inspired me to write more about hands.
The art coupled with your words creates a stirring feeling of beauty. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you. Poems aren’t my thing, but sometimes they’re the only way to say (or not say) it.
Beautiful! Sweet Poem 😀
Pingback: spoken | girl in the hat