How hard can it be
to enter my bed as my mother
I am a new born, feed me
I am the abandoned lamb
The weak hatchling
The branch broken in two
to beat a spoiled child

I am all memory

Be a mother and coo me
to sleep
Baby-talk into my heart’s ear
Run your hand over my head
Tonight, you are not my lover
Tonight, I am not your husband
Tonight, I am your missing son
You, the milk
at the corner of my mouth
 
OCTAVIO QUINTANILLA, author of the poetry collection, If I Go Missing (Slough Press, 2014) is the 2018-2020 Poet Laureate of San Antonio, TX.  He holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Texas, is the regional editor for Texas Books in Review, and teaches Literature and Creative Writing in the M.A./M.F.A. program at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.