Poem: On the birth of my daughter

On the birth of my daughter

Asleep in a fishtank

darkest hair dipped in gold.

3am. All is still.

I watch you

alien fish child.

---

Somewhere

an owl bags a mouse

a man punches a wall

a woman begs her lover to stay

a boy cries himself to sleep

a fox screeches.

---

Here

the clock slows

to match

your

breath.

_{First published in Where’s the manual? And other thoughts on parenthood, 2020}