Darcy May Gillham

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if your body is an abandoned train

tell me of a forgotten morning    when your seats still held
people    wearing the close scent of sleep    tell me how they tried
to lean away from it     and urged the day to lift its head   
to draw them    away from themselves    did you think of them all
as your own    children carried in the narrow pockets of your belly   
tell me    did it ever get any easier to let them go    when they spilled
from your blinking doors like tears    did you notice the birds
stop their song     to watch from above    did you find quiet
comfort     in the platform’s embrace    were you ever ready
to pull away     I know you remember    but I will not ask
of that last time    or if you knew it was a last time    but mother
did you know you would have to give it up    one day    
that your body was never a home    only someplace
to keep them safe    while you could

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DARCY MAY GILLHAM is a Shropshire-born poet living in Manchester. Her work is forthcoming in Lemon Curd and SPOONFEED.