Leap Year
Jonathan ValaniaFebruary 29th, 2020
I sat at the piano,
pirouettes in my fingers,
sliding from G to A—
earthly hands chasing grace.
I like to go to the barn
played low in my mind,
and I saw us dancing,
vinyl spinning,
your mother laughing in the kitchen.
Then the moment broke.
She rounded the corner,
eyes wet,
test in hand.
“It’s positive!”
And for one suspended breath,
we were happy.
I thought I’d be older.
More secure.
Less afraid.
But I dropped to my knees,
hands on the place
where you were becoming,
tears falling without fear.
Anxiety gone.
If only for a moment.
And I hummed
the lullaby my mother sang
into the silence
where your life had just begun.
Read the Next Poem
Equally Yoked
