Writing/The Crib
<poem> The crib was empty. The mother gasped, tears tracing silent paths. The man arrived, a shadow in the doorway, his weight fell upon her. The mother wept.
The crib was empty. The man sat, eyes burning crimson, the whip slipping from his grasp, his hands heavy with silence. The mother wept.
The crib was empty. The man thirsted. The mother brought him water, but it did not soothe him. His eyes burned anew. The mother wept.
The crib was empty. The mother’s flesh bloomed red, peeling, falling, blood flowing like the tears before. The man was relentless. The mother wept.
The crib was empty. Day bled into night, night into years. Still, the mother wept.
The crib was empty. A knock at the door, the man answered. A boy in his twenties stood. “Father,” he whispered. The man’s lips curled with joy. The mother wept.
The crib was empty. The boy rushed forward, knocking the man to the ground. “Mother, oh Mother,” he cried, his gaze turning, sharpening. The mother wept.
The crib was empty. The boy held steel in his hands, gleaming—then red. “This is not enough,” he murmured. The mother wept.
The crib was empty. The man lay still, dragged into the night, offered to waiting hands. The mother wept— “The crib is not empty anymore.”
</poem>
Explanation
Stanza 1
The crib was empty.
The mother gasped,
tears tracing silent paths.
The man arrived,
a shadow in the doorway,
his weight fell upon her.
The mother wept.
Explanation:
- Literal: A child is missing or gone. The mother is in shock and sorrow. A man (the father) enters — but not as comfort — as a shadow, an ominous figure who sexually assaults/physically overpowers the grieving mother.
- Interpretive: The stanza introduces a cycle of loss and abuse. “The crib was empty” becomes a refrain for both literal absence and emotional emptiness. The man’s arrival is described as a “shadow” as he brings darkness, not relief.
Stanza 2
The crib was empty.
The man sat,
eyes burning crimson,
the whip slipping from his grasp,
his hands heavy with silence.
The mother wept.
Explanation:
- Literal: The man is violent, perhaps abusive with a whip. His rage is spent or momentarily paused — the whip “slips,” but the silence is oppressive. The mother remains in sorrow.
- Interpretive: The “burning eyes” and “whip” symbolize control and punishment. The silence is not peace but an absence of empathy. The mother remains voiceless.
Stanza 3
The crib was empty.
The man thirsted.
The mother brought him water,
but it did not soothe him.
His eyes burned anew.
The mother wept.
Explanation:
- Literal: The man is demanding, as he is addicted and emotionally hollow. The mother tries to help but can never satisfy his needs or fury.
- Interpretive: The thirst represent unfulfilled control or rage. The mother’s attempts to nurture are futile — her suffering is both physical and existential.
Stanza 4
The crib was empty.
The mother’s flesh bloomed red,
peeling, falling,
blood flowing like the tears before.
The man was relentless.
The mother wept.
Explanation:
- Literal: The abuse has become visibly brutal — her skin is torn, and blood flows. “Relentless” implies sustained violence.
- Interpretive: The stanza describes escalation — her suffering now leaves permanent marks.
Stanza 5
The crib was empty.
Day bled into night,
night into years.
Still, the mother wept.
Explanation:
- Literal: Time passes. The child is still gone, the abuse continues oandits memory lingers. Her pain is unending.
- Interpretive: This stanza emphasizes the stagnation of trauma. Time moves, but healing does not. The mother remains in a state of mourning — not just for the child, but for her lost self too
Stanza 6
The crib was empty.
A knock at the door,
the man answered.
A boy in his twenties stood.
“Father,” he whispered.
The man’s lips curled with joy.
The mother wept.
Explanation:
- Literal: The lost child returns as a young man. The father is joyful. The mother, though, weeps — possibly from a complex mix of relief, fear, or dread.
- Interpretive: The boy’s return is not a resolution. The father sees redemption; the mother sees the betrayal (he calls the abuser “father”).This is an intentional imbalance of emotions .
Stanza 7
The crib was empty.
The boy rushed forward,
knocking the man to the ground.
“Mother, oh Mother,” he cried,
his gaze turning,
sharpening.
The mother wept.
Explanation:
- Literal: The boy attacks his father, then turns to his mother with compassion and something more — resolve.
- Interpretive: The son recognizes the abuse and acts. His “gaze sharpening” displays a decision to end the his mother's sufferring forever. The mother’s weeping now include relief — but still, she mourns.
Stanza 8
The crib was empty.
The boy held steel in his hands,
gleaming—then red.
“This is not enough,” he murmured.
The mother wept.
Explanation:
- Literal: The boy kills the man but feels the act cannot undo the past.
- Interpretive: Justice feels incomplete. Violence does not erase suffering. His murmur displays the futility of revenge — and the mother, once again, bears the emotional cost.
Stanza 9
The crib was empty.
The man lay still,
dragged into the night,
offered to waiting hands.
The mother wept—
“The crib is not empty anymore.”
Explanation:
- Literal: The man's body is taken — to be disposed of. For the first time, the mother speaks, and her words suggest a transformation.
- Interpretive: The final line is deeply metaphorical. “The crib is not empty anymore” implies that the cycle is complete — pain has come full circle.