End Times

End Times

Amy Bornman

these are end times.
dare I admit now that a poet
expecting a baby fears
the loss of her mind?
I shudder at the premonition
of three wise men visiting
to lay at my feet,
as I hold my small son,
things I cannot figure out how to use.

please leave us alone here in this stable,
my blood and waters intermingled with hay,
vernix-covered infant in a trough,
my body half-naked and grotesque.

leave us, you shepherds,
you village folk, you angels.

let me see the baby first, alone.
we’ll sort this out with time.

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Amy Bornman
Poet & Artist

Amy is the author of There is a Future (Paraclete Press Poetry, 2020). She studied theater and writing at Wheaton College. You can find more from Amy at amybornman.com.

Photography by Benigno Hoyuela