Batnadiv Ha Karmi
Colic
After Terence Hayes
A writing mother traces her tradition
to desperate singing rockers, chanting
the sound of footfalls. Shh Shh, shh. Sleep sleep
sleep. Hush little sweet. Hush baby hush. Hush
brain hush. Hush the mind. Quiet the eyes. No
I won’t cry. A raven rustles behind
my eyeball. His beak breaks my pupil. Don’t
you cry. All the women who muttered nights,
mouths full of marbles. They tumble as I
speak, glass shards against my teeth. Ping the floor,
roll between my feet. One is full of waves.
Another holds a cat’s claw. Air bubbles
and screams. Globed glass rings wings that beat
through the dark, stirring bedspreads, hair, and sheets.
Batnadiv HaKarmi is a Pushcart-nominated writer and visual artist. She is the author of The Love of Mortal Beings (Kelsay Books, 2003). Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Poet Lore, Poetry International, Ilanot Review and Arc Poetry Magazine. She is the recipient of the Andrea Moriah Poetry Prize, and was shortlisted for the Brideport Prize for flash fiction, and Harbor Review’s Jewish Women’s poetry prize.