I Watch My Baby Slumber…

I watch my baby slumber,
Mouth almost covering my nipple,
Drooling milk from the corner.
Fine droplets of sweat
Slowly roll into tear tracks,
In the creases between nose and cheeks.
I kiss her softly, tasting salt.

I watch my baby slumber –
A silent lullaby,
Putting me in a trance.
As I try to remove her
From my breast
She stirs and sucks again, harder.

I watch my baby slumber,
Her eyes move behind lids,
Jerk and flutter,
As arms and shoulders swim
Out of dreams,
Fingers grab for me blindly.
I put a thumb in reach,
And she grasps it,
As if I were a lifebuoy,
And she, a rescued drowner,
Heaves deeply.
Now she is sucking again.
The work of dreams
Left her ravenous.
And I her life raft
Drift out to open seas.