The Hammock
September 2, 2012 
When I lay my head in my mother’s lap
I think how day hides the stars,
the way I lay hidden once, waiting
inside my mother’s singing to herself. And I remember
how she carried me on her back
between home and the kindergarten,
once each morning and once each afternoon.
I don’t know what my mother’s thinking.
When my son lays his head in my lap, I wonder:
Do his father’s kisses keep his father’s worries
from becoming his? I think, Dear God, and remember
there are stars we haven’t heard from yet:
They have so far to arrive. Amen,
I think, and I feel almost comforted.
I have no idea what my child is thinking.
Between two unknowns, I live my life.
Between my mother’s hopes, older than I am
by coming before me, and my child’s wishes, older than I am
by outliving me. And what’s it like?
Is it a door, and good-bye on either side?
A window, and eternity on either side?
Yes, and a little singing between two great rests.
- Li-Young Lee
Photography, love, poetry
Reader Comments (19)
This is truly beautiful and the image is a wonderful complement to the prose. Thank you.
Tears rolling down my cheeks as I read. Absolutely beautiful - both the poetry and the imagery!!
This is one of those poems I could read a hundred times, Honey, not because I don't understand it but because I do. Oh my. It does bring tears...and joy. A bittersweetness.
And that precious face...so totally unselfconscious and selfless!
Glorious, both your poem and stunning image.
How precious, the photo and the poem. I absolutely love this.
Absolutely breathtaking and heartwarming. My goodness, that sleeping face! And my goodness that poem! Thank you, thank you for such beauty this morning.
Exquisite image reminding me of my earliest days of mothering. Such an honor to be a mother; beautiful poem!
Beautiful and bittersweet. A gorgeous image. Thank you, Honey.
This is a lovely, touching piece and, as a mother myself, so related to this life I have.
Oh my. Your image takes my breath away.
And the poem...thank you.
Simply wonderful :-)
Very beautiful ~ so very sweet
absolutely gorgeous....the image and words compliment each other so well, what a treasure
So much truth in those words, Honey, and your photograph gives it even more power. Superb!
Oh for those days I see in your photo. Such a beautiful expression of the connection and separation and unknowns.
What a wonderful photograph and such lovely prose to accompany it!
"A singing between two rests." Perfect description of a child!
Beautiful combination!
An incredible poem, it brought tears to my eyes. This was following the smile on my face, put there by your lovely photo.