Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine

 

The Shelf
by Nicole Towarnicki

 

I stand outside your door
Tense as I listen to your tears
I give in and go to you.
In your quietest voice you ask,
"Can't you just rock me for a minute?"
You melt into my arms as I hold you close to my heart
My anger bleeds into longing.
Longing to put this moment up on the shelf,
Next to the first time I heard you laugh,
Between the very first time you called me Mommy
And the "I love you" whispered in the dead of the night.
My cherished shelf,
Full of the wonderments of your childhood

 

 

 

 

Nicole Towarnicki lives in eastern Pennsylvania. She is the mother of twin 9-year-old boys and a 6-year-old daughter who constantly delight, frustrate and inspire her. In the few spare moments a day she can find, Nicole writes poetry and has just finished her first children's story book. She is still searching for a waterproof pen and paper set, as her best lines always seem to occur in the shower; possibly because that's about the only time she has alone.