by Marcia J. Pradzinski

It's #tbt! Enjoy this great one from SWWIMEvery Day's archives!

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Let his body down in our
grainy ribbons of light
along the bones of me.
On the ground, come morning the grasses will genuflect
with a dozen swirling constellations.

How silently a heart pivots on its hinge—

silent as the moment before the world was.
Eyes closed,
he falls into darkness,
receding from my grasp—
a person can die of motherhood.





Cento Sources: David Caddy, Kwame Davis, Dorianne Laux, Alison Croggon, Cynthia Brackett Vincent, Marcia Hurlow, Jane Hirshfield, Elvis Alves, Hedy Habra, Louis Gallo, Karen Bowles, Sage Cohen

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Marcia J. Pradzinski writes memoir, poetry, and fiction. She’s working on a memoir about raising a child with a disability, and has short pieces published on that topic featured in Overcoming (a 2013 anthology), Woodcrest, Kaleidoscope, and Harmony. She’s published two books of poetry: Left Behind (Finishing Line Press 2015) and As One Day Slips Out of the Shoe of Another (Kelsay Books 2021). She has a short story published in Meaningful Conflicts (a 2023 anthology). She lives in Skokie, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, and enjoys watching for cardinals and woodpeckers in the neighborhood.

by Marcia J. Pradzinski

Let his body down in our

grainy ribbons of light 

along the bones of me.

On the ground, come morning the grasses will genuflect

with a dozen swirling constellations.

How silently a heart pivots on its hinge—

silent as the moment before the world was.

Eyes closed,

he falls into darkness,

receding from my grasp—

a person can die of motherhood.  

Cento Sources: David Caddy, Kwame Davis, Dorianne Laux, Alison Croggon, Cynthia Brackett Vincent, Marcia Hurlow, Jane Hirshfield, Elvis Alves, Hedy Habra, Louis Gallo, Karen Bowles, Sage Cohen

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Marcia J. Pradzinski, an award-winning poet, lives in Skokie, Illinois. Her poems have been featured in print and online. Recent and forthcoming publications include Clementine Unbound, Your Daily Poem, Ink In Thirds, Scarlet Leaf Review, and Honey & Lime. Finishing Line Press published her chapbook, Left Behind, in 2015. Her fellow poets help her stay productive. When not reading or writing, she enjoys water aerobics, walking, and going to movies.