Fear of Loud Noises,
Fear of Being Dropped

The way we communicated,
I call verbal egg toss:

My vocal hand pressed against
Your chest to distance,

The Faberge of our lives
Flung in careless sport;

A challenge to your baby fright—
The pitch of my voice complicating

Your fear of being dropped—
Such things to make babies cry.

The reaction: something uncoiled
Inside: instinctual, reflexive;

How your hand cracked
Smartly against the curve

Of my cheek. A sudden reddening,
Skin photo. Your ring slivering away

A little skin beneath my eye.

— sonia greenfield