Doris Lynch
Bathing the Baby
For Cody Jack
Slap of a bare bottom against my still broad belly as we approach the sink. The careful testing of temperature, over and over against my wrist until perfect—warm but not hot. Whenever my hand navigates near his pug nose and dark blue eyes, he turns his face away from the cloth. Each time I wash his hair, he cries nervously. The speckled orange spots on his scalp won’t scour off. When a soap bar bounces off his thigh, he swishes sideways like a large fish. Afterward, I hurry to cover any body parts where leaks might occur. His red skin against the white towel. His chubby thighs, hint at their future power.
memory
of water sloshing
tethered cord
About the Author
Celebrating her first decade writing haibun, Doris Lynch has recent work in Haibun Today, cho, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, and FemkuMag. She also writes in longer forms.
I absolutely loved this Haibun. i think the Haiku makes the personal narrative explored in the prose, become something stunning. I was drawn back to the time when I delivered my son. A burst of emotions, some what tangled. Thank you for finding words that help me look back.