Everything in a Hold

Your tiny wrist curls around my finger,

soft and so sure it could snap me in two.

The blanket tangles in my shaking hands,

fingers stiff with awe, tight with fear.

Heartbeat flickers just below thin skin,

a secret I’m holding like a live wire.

Every breath you take fills the room—

a pulse I’m not ready to answer,

but can’t stop listening to.

You weigh nothing and everything at once,

held close, the quiet terror of all this life,

so small it could shatter,

so real it could burn through my ribs,

wrapped in a moment where nothing is safe,

and everything moves too fast,

everything moves too fast.