Life Cycle

    by Larina Warnock

I think I missed the moment

when you became the child

waiting for me to coo

lullabies that might ensure one good

night’s sleep.  I think I missed the

moment when I became the parent

waiting for you to learn

words that might explain one night-

mare that returns like uncelebrated

holidays.  I think I missed

the moment that we traded

places the way children

trade comic books and collectible

cards and stories about being

in trouble again.  I think I

missed something important

and genuine, like passing

through a town with one junk store

treasure worth a million

other moments I think.

© 2010 Larina Warnock

Larina Warnock writes poetry & prose from Corvallis, Oregon where she lives with her husband and four children.  Her work, which often details the healing journey of her family, has appeared as a top ten winner in Writer's Digest's poetry competition, Wheelhouse Magazine, The Oregonian, Space & Time Magazine, and many others.  Her chapbook, Guitar Without Strings, is scheduled for publication by The Lives You Touch Publications in 2010.  She serves as the site administrator for the poets.org discussion forum, editor of The Externalist, and chair of Writers on the River.

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