Receiving Blankets, Stretched Beneath Stars

You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it. I’m Grant Barrett.

And I’m Martha Barnette. George L. O’Lyon is an author and a teacher who’s written in several genres, from children’s books to adult fiction. But she’s first and foremost a poet, and in fact once served as Kentucky’s poet laureate.

And I wanted to share one of her poems from her collection called Back to the Light. It’s from University Press of Kentucky, and the poem is called Receiving.

I had no idea how to hold a baby. Forget instinct. It doesn’t feel like it looks, and you were a squirmer and wouldn’t stay swaddled. Receiving blankets, we called those cloths you threw off, as though we’d held them stretched beneath stars while you fell from heaven.

In the yellow one, with rabbits stamped on, I wrapped you for our first trip out. You wriggled and stretched and fought with fists when I held you in the crook of my arm. Laid on my shoulder, you bellied around like a snake. It was September. Hot. Hot. And you smothered in a drawstring gown and that blanket. I didn’t have a grip. That much was clear. And you were on your journey in search of something firmer or freer. I still do not know which.

Grant, I just love that on so many levels.

It’s so vivid.

It is really vivid.

And I thought you’d appreciate it.

As a papa myself, that poem speaks to me on lots of levels.

It’s so perfect.

It’s such a perfect poem.

It really is.

We, of course, will put that on our website and link to the book.

Give us the author and title again, please, Martha.

The title is Receiving and is by George L. Alliance.

Oh, lovely. Outstanding. We’d love to hear about your favorite poets and poetry. You can email them to words@waywordradio.org or call or text toll free 877-929-9673.