Because I am your mother
allow me to go first and clear
the brambles and thorns;
let me overturn each stone
simmered under the sun
and shade the ones up ahead;
I’ll patch all of the uneven
spaces between until
gravel becomes pavement
becomes marble;
then forgive me
for dulling this sharp world;
for giving you all of the echo
and none of the shout.
Catherine Stansfield’s poems and short stories are featured in Apricity Magazine, El Portal, The MacGuffin, Mount Hope Magazine, Open: Journal of Arts & Letters, Plainsongs, Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry, Slippery Elm and others. She has a BA in English from Caldwell University and works as a publishing assistant and graphic designer. Find her online at catherinestansfield.com.