I Had Been Called Upon for Something

POETRY

by Laura Goldin

I saw a lake, and in the lake a fish,
and in the fish a light so concentrated
it could burn through anything.

I had a child who could not be satisfied
           A yearning mouth beyond all comfort.

I had been called upon to be a mother but could not
           accomplish it. To stand for something,
but could not come close.

That thing I did instead:
           exerting force in little spaces.

Why I did: to see what happens, and
as an expression of despair,
           which is the opposite of faith,
but speaks to it.

What happened afterward:
the yearned-for sleep

           The story of the fish.