Baby Dream #39: The Bedtime Routine
Katie Manning
I bathe
the goldfish
in flour
and oil
and fry it
to a new shade
of gold.
I scoop it
from the pan
and place it
gently
in the bassinet.
I start
to walk
away
but turn back
for one
last look.
The baby
sighs.
the goldfish
in flour
and oil
and fry it
to a new shade
of gold.
I scoop it
from the pan
and place it
gently
in the bassinet.
I start
to walk
away
but turn back
for one
last look.
The baby
sighs.
Listen to Katie read the poem here:
Working notes
“Baby Dream #39: The Bedtime Routine” is the final poem in a sequence of poems that are based on real dreams that I had before, during, and after pregnancy. I gave birth to my son at 39 weeks, and I just happened to have 39 vivid dreams that I worked into poems. With all of the baby advice out there, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone thinks that frying a goldfish really is the best method for sleep training. If anyone had told me so in my first weeks of sleep deprived motherhood, I might have tried it.
About the author
Katie Manning is the author of three poetry chapbooks: The Gospel of the Bleeding Woman (Point Loma Press, 2013), Tea with Ezra (Boneset Books, 2013), and I Awake in My Womb (Yellow Flag Press, 2013). Her poems have been published in New Letters, PANK, Poet Lore, and So to Speak, among many other journals and anthologies. She is an Assistant Professor of English at Azusa Pacific University. Find her online at www.katiemanningpoet.com.