Mother Writing, Twist A Sentence Into Song. by Nina Athena Radke

As I focus on her trembling hands she rushes over

words that melt into song as they rise with her voice.

I detect a slight nervous shake in her speech

But she's enchanting, glowing pink satin and blue jeans

Hair cut simply, lying straight, flat, limp

In a tired style, her skin exhausted, body worn

But her soul so alive, dancing in the orange-yellow glare

of overhead lights, as words rise and fall with rapid

Vibrations of her tongue, flying over the podium, reaching

out to us and rocking chairs we sit upon motionless,

transfixed; not a whisper, now a cough, nor a single

solid movement to disrupt her fluid song in motion.

I watch, realize my heart beats erratically, mind blazing.

A hug, a sticky note with black numbers, tucked away.

I won't squeeze tightly, won't wrap my arms to touch

her back or feel her hair brush my face, I won't remember how it smells,

as I grip keys in a fist, folder in the other,

I won't hold on, I don't want to have to let go.

I'll just watch from afar, how she talks with her hands,

misspelled words on chalkboard, printed

shawls draping bony shoulders, her hands grasping

Styrofoam cups, drop of brown coffee dripping down sides,

I'll hold on from afar, as she speaks of son, daughter, of a role

I silently wish were my own, I'll sit

tucking hands into sleeves, biting violently at raw, dry lips,

stomach squeezing and contorting itself to soothe

the hunger. I'll hold on from afar, breathe in words

she exhales so loudly, hands that smooth bed sheets, fold

corners of pages in a novel, I'll hold on from afar.

An embrace to shake tears from desolate eyes, making jokes

to chase away sorrow that sleeps in a daughter's bed at night;

soothing hunger, with empty words of devotion and

dollar store greeting cards, mother hunger.

Nina Athena Radke has been ordering words around and crafting tales ever since she first learned to write. Ms. Radke is the author of four collections of poetry & short prose, including Off the Beaten Path, In Retrospect, Dreamtales, and The Best of Nina Athena.  Ms. Radke was most recently featured in In Between Hangovers, Creative Talents Unleashed, Tangent Literary, and New York Literary.

With a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Buffalo State College, this freelance writer/publisher has been editing and publishing for over a decade. As founder of DreamMiners Publishing, Ms. Radke has produced over a dozen literary collections for other writers, and is currently working on her first novel.