Shadow Mama .... and In the Land of Admonish ....

Shadow Mama…

There she comes – coatless -chilled–walk-in-wind hair tousled tumbling into too wide, too white eyes – leaning against that metal reception desk the smell of her night-work  kitchen clinging in her clothes. An earlier turned-away - returned blissfully proudly unaware of the determined downturned mouths – the averted eyes filled with admonish – simply clutching her contracting belly swollen with the persistent fullness of her urgent unmet but already known daughter- and in the quiet of shadow judgment speaks in the clear voice she prefers in their presence insisting only on a single clean woolly blanket from the stacked pile upon which to lie while she waits for life to arrive. 

In the Land of Admonish....

In the Land of Admonish the young girl rises from her closeted corner - 
motherless daughter silently slipping coatless between cold shadows cradling the 
finally unfettered fullness of her hot urgent swollen belly -surrendering the 
night to strangers to return emptied through the still dark kitchen, unshed  
tears  pouring in the protective  privacy she always prefers - taste of metal in 
her scream swallowed mouth, thoughts woolly tangled tumbling in her mind, she 
rests as a tepid dawn trails cool unaware fingers across the awakening forever-
different day