I have lived in your face

I have lived in your face.
Have I been you?
Your mother?     giving you birth

—this pain
whenever I say goodbye to thee

—up to now I always wanted it
but not this

Credit

Used by permission of the author.

Author

Jean Valentine

The author of many collections of poetry, Jean Valentine has received such honors as the National Book Award, the Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize, and the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets.

Date Published

01/01/2011