Mercedes White Milk and Honey

Dedicated to the women who were Mothers in one breath, Lovers in the next

milk and honey,

nourishment to my bones

sweet on my lips

milk and honey,

the in between of growing pains

and the celebration of it

milk and honey,

the before of the before

and the merriment of the after

milk and honey

of nature, and nectar, 

to nurture

milk and honey,

the growth of limb and tooth,

the sweetness in its proof

milk, and honey

from your mother,

to your mother

milk and honey,

the result of pressure,

when palm becomes fist,

when wax meets wick

milk, honey,

i loved you because i had to,

i love you because i want to

milk and honey,

bathed and baptised 

in a promise

and a prayer

i long for a life

that is only 

milk, honey,

the growing and the strength,

the melting of sugared crystal

on taste bud and tinted skin,

sweet until it is sickly,

savoured until it is gone.