Child in a Tunnel

Child in a Tunnel
(after Jospeh Fasano)
by Grace Cavalieri

Come here 
come here child
place your head 
here on my chest
this is all a game 
going in the dark  
together 
an adventure 
see all these people 
in the room
they're here to 
protect  you 
and that candy bar 
in your hand
melting 
on your fingers 
put it to your lips
suck
suck the bar
here's
a cup of water 
sip sip
this is a game
to see
how long 
we can stay 
without crying
come here 
on my chest 
I will put my arms
around you
let us count 
the number
of heartbeats 
we hear 
in each other’s 
heart
let us feel 
each other’s 
fingers
and count them
again and again
please know
everyone here 
is our friend 
everyone
is here
to protect you 
to love you 
there's nothing 
to fear 
the dark 
is going to change 
as soon 
as the new day
comes 
it is all a game
we play
how many 
stories 
we will tell
each other
I tell you about 
the bird I saved
when it fell 
from its nest 
and the kitten
I found 
almost drowned
in the well 
let me tell you
about 
the flowers 
that just needed
water to live 
here have 
another sip 
from my cup
now lay your sweet
head on my chest
and close your eyes
and when you  wake 
all will be light.

Copyright 2023 by Grace Cavalieri 

Grace Cavalieri is Maryland’s tenth Poet Laureate. Her new book is The long Game, Poems Selected & New (The Word Works)  She founded and still produces The Poet and the Poem for public radio, now from the Library of Congress, celebrating 47 years on-air. Among other awards, she holds two Allen Ginsberg Awards and the CPB Silver Medal and is an Academy of American Poets Fellow. Cavalieri has written 26 books of poems as well as plays produced on American stages. Women in history is her specialty, and the last play produced was Quilting The Sun about ex-slave quilt maker Harriet Powers, 2017 NYC. The last 25 years of her podcasts have been sent to the moon on Lunar Codex.