into the abyss

by Jessica Aure Pratt

Toes step on sunbeam spangled tiles

in the full bellied kitchen; so bright,

so small, so lived in. My baby, all eggshell 

smile and caterpillar fingers wraps herself 

around my arms, a tree she has always 

lived in. We twirl, her laugh a hunger, 

a haunting, the birth of a star.

Happy.

I didn’t know she knew that word. 

I bloom like a waterfall, like a wildfire, 

like a black hole, everything else 

disintegrating, all consuming joy

pulling me into its gravity

before I am released, 

spinning out into 

typical orbits.

Sometimes I look back and think 

of how I will never be that happy again. 

Sometimes I wonder if my soul 

will go back there when I die.

Jessica Aure Pratt is a Utah-based occupational therapist and poet. Her work often reflects experiences with parenting, nature, social issues, and many facets of spirituality. She is published in Wildscape Lit Journal, Humana Obscura, and Planted Journal among others. You can find more of her work on Instagram: @jessaure.poetry