Chaos Theory

by J. B. Rowell

I.
I knew you in a stir
of cosmos
churn of life
brewing soul in a grain
of rice

II.
it doesn't happen
just like that
your father said
I smiled
hand on the ceiling
of your sky

III.
I dreamt you before
born: dark hair
played with you
on the floor until told
to put you back
startled awake
by the thought

IV.
you took a pacifier
like a piece of love
couldn't wait
to get out of my arms
off of my lap
and go




J. B. Rowell lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, a scientist, and their three children: Mary Helen (7), Liam (4), and Shea (brand new). She is leaving her teaching gig to teach her own children next year, and will continue to write poetry in her "spare time" (ha!). Her poems have appeared and are forthcoming in several publications including MotherVerse, WOMB, asinine poetry, Mom Writers Literary Magazine, Birmingham Arts Journal, and the North Carolina Poet Laureate web site. She can be found online serving poetry and musing about motherhood at her blog, Mom And Apple Pie.