Extraordinary Creatures

by Cristina Nehring (May 2024)

Every night I sing my girl
To sleep and watch her fling
Her pudgy arms
Around her unicorn.
–
Is it a coincidence
That my special child
Loves special animals?
All other mammals in her bed
–
She disregards: The bear,
The bunny and the horse
Go unattended. It is
The single-horned imaginary beast
–
Who is her feast. Without him
Her chances are dim
Of going to rest. It is as
Though she knows best
–
Who her kindred spirits are.
By far: The oddballs with the
Extra chromosome are home
For her. Two freaks of nature
–
In each other’s embrace
Two magical beings
Joined at the hip
What a trip
–
To an enchanted world
Where difference isn’t dire
Where alchemy imposes its art
And all things come from the heart.
–
Sleep on my supernatural love,
My mythical child.
How wild
And how lucky
–
That you are here
In your bed
To give us instead
Of dull sameness
A glimpse of the divine.

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