Possum
for Aiden
he’s back
from his day long tour
with the school band
he takes a warm shower
and rests his tired head
in my lap
snoozing
I watch his eyelids tremble
a powder of moss
the telltale wisps
of fine down
quivering above
his eleven year old lip
still my baby for now
nestled against me
hands like possum paws
cottony pink
cupped in mine
like they used to curl
in the pads of my palms
at one, at four
at seven
I want to shift my leg
relieve the discomfort
of pins and needles
but I don’t want to wake him
lest he shuffle away
displace the completeness
of this moment
because
if the sixth grade mums
are to be believed
I cannot be sure
that back from band tour
he will still want
the warmth of my lap
next year.
Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad is a Australian artist, poet, and pianist of Indian heritage. She’s a member of the North Shore Poetry Project and Authora Australis. Her works have been published in several literary journals in Australia, US, and the UK.
atriumpoetry.com 