The rare gift by Kiki Dimoula

New theories.
You should not leave children to cry.
Take them in your arms immediately. Otherwise
the feeling of abandonment undergoes
premature growth
their child trauma comes of age abnormally
grows teeth hair nails crooked knives.

For grown ups, the old people as we say
- what's not spring is old these days -
follow the ancient principles.
Never embrace. Strengthen their ellipsis
let them burst out crying
until they are out of breath.
Let the grown ups cry. No embrace.
Just fill their feeding bottle
with non-sweet promise - the deprivations
should not get fat - that their mother's embrace
will come once and for good
to send them gauntly to sleep.
Place that device next to them that
records the baby's noises
so that you can listen remotely
whether their breath is rhythmically lonely.
Never be fooled into embracing them.

They wrap fiercely
around the rare neck of this gift,
they will choke you.

Nothing. When you are asked for an embrace
tell them you will not surrender baby, you will not surrender.

http://www.poetryinternationalweb.net/pi/site/poet/item/2455/20/Kiki-Dimoula