Milky Way – Freeverse
The only thing that felt like music
to my longing ears were her
suckling, suckling, suckety-suck.
I sang to her songs about
How my milk nourished her,
the tunes being rehashes of
Popular movie songs.
My heart thudded mercilessly
when it was my left breast’s turn.
Her widened eyes,
her fastened breath,
and her galloping hums,
Aftermaths of a fierce let-down.
Sticky milk splashed
on her soft face,
Punctuated with wails
that brought the house down.
The arrangements-
swaddle to wrap her,
rubber sheet to catch her pee,
Securing her nappy properly
so that her poop doesn’t roll out.
Oh God, the arrangements!
Engorgement, a daily chore.
My bare hands, breast pumps,
Empty honey bottles
filled with hot water,
To melt away milk mountains.
Is her stomach full?
Is she hungry again?
Never-ending puzzles.
Sometimes I let her suckle on,
and ended up with
Curdled milk on my shoulder.
The longest struggle of my life-
to make her burp after every feed,
For once a nurse told me-
if she doesn’t burp, she’d collapse.
Oats, garlic, mutton gravy,
Mother’s Horlicks and whatnot.
These galactagogues worked
in filling 180 ml of the pump bottle.
That period of wonder and struggle
lasted for eleven months,
But every moment I got to see
Her cherubic face,
so calm, fed, and peaceful,
I knew it was all worth it.
©Kavya Janani. U
You can check out my other freeverse poems here: Freeverse Poems by Kavya Janani. U