“Getting Comfortable” by Brian Henry

Dedicated to my daughter

You lie in my arm,
Just the one arm,
Cradled against my heart,
Bundled in a blankie
The ends tucked tight
To keep you snug
And remind you of the womb.

Your lips purse
In a heart shape
With a tiny O at the centre.
Your breath a sigh
But softer.
You’re as comfortable
As if I knew what I was doing.

I try to feel comfy too.
Sitting in an old easy chair
With big arms,
So neither of us will fall out,
And I have a book.
Because that’s what I do:
I read and I write.
Now we’ll read together.

“Listen to this,” I say.
"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree…”

Your eyelids flutter.
Your cheeks pinken with indrawn breath.
Your perfect heart-shaped lips.

Brian Henry is a book editor, creative writing instructor, and the publisher of Quick Brown Fox. As a writer, he usually writes opinion pieces on some of the great issues of the day, but you can read a piece about Brian and his daughter Leah, here, and a piece about Brian and his son William, here. Brian gave a reading of "Getting Comfortable" at CJ's Cafe in June. Our next reading night at CJ's will be Tuesday, Sept 13, from 6:30 to 9:00. (More here.) Hope to see you there.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.