I rocked
for the first time
in an age.
I’d quite forgotten
the soothing
undulating
movement,
the province
of the young
and old;
that tender time
when comforts come
in repetition
accompanied by
a primal thrum
starting deep
in the throat—
a crooning bee
of sound.
The chair rocked me
back to that moment,
pillow mounded
on pregnancy softened belly
and you, pink-faced
and belligerent,
mouth caterwauling
up at me
with all the lust
of your young lungs.
The up, the down
the foot pushing off
the wooden floor,
The creak of floorboards,
the hum, the rock,
The calm.
Melissa Shaw-Smith
Writer
Melissa Shaw-Smith 
Crooning bee of sound is excellent.
The long poem works, I wouldn’t center justify, but other than that a fine snapshot of a moment that brings full circle aging and new life.
Thanks, Laurie!
What a marvelous poem of moments so many Moms can relate to.
Thanks, Jeanne. Difficult to believe we used to hold those big lads in our arms and rock them!
There is something about rocking chairs that seems to hold memories, I have one too, not baby memories, but memories of when it was new and how my life was at that time and how I wondered if I would still have that chair when I was old. Memories always come back when in I sit back and rock a while.
I love the way you’ve described this! And maybe that rocking chair will be your lifelong friend? 🙂
Suzy, I wish you many happy hours of rocking and the memories to go with it. Thanks very much for reading and commenting.
There is indeed something very soothing, calming, meditative, about rocking chairs….for young and old. I have fond memories of rocking on a front porch…daughter, mother, and grandmother on a summer’s evening…
You’ve captured it beautifully….(.once I get past the center justified lines..:-) )
Lovely image of you and your family rocking. Glad I could stir that memory. Thanks for reading.
Great work!
Great inspiration!
Hey Lady … this rocks~!
Ha! Appreciate the comment.
Who can resist rocking, Melissa— young, old and in between. You captured it well. –Curt
Thanks, Curt. Happy rocking!
A lovely reminder of happy times I spent in a rocking chair with my newborn daughters. We never forget memories like that and you have captured the feeling perfectly. (It’s a beautiful rocking chair, too. I wish I had one like that.)
Glad you liked it, Adele. Thanks for commenting.
Superb poem. I can feel and hear the rocking motion in the short back-and-forth lines. I can see you transported in your meditation to different poignant moments in the timeline of your life. The fact of the meditation ending in “calm” is powerful, for little in life truly leads us there. Keep rocking.
Roger, your generous comments and thoughtful feedback is always appreciated.
Lovely-I can hear the chair rock and the floorboards respond. Such a beautiful picture of one of life’s great gifts-
Thank you. Happy to share the moment.
Oh! the memories that surface when they are about to leave! Do I know what that is like!