Steven Harz Music

Cradle of the Earth

Chesapeake Bay beach blanket and unhooked bikini

you lay on the sand, head resting on your arms.

Through dime store sunglasses I observe

your back shoulder galaxy of freckles

and work to find, and name, your late afternoon,

weekend tan, constellations. Laying my head on

your shoulder blade North Star I hear your

breathing – in an out, and growing deeper,

sounding like an Oklahoma tornado.

And your lungs create a noise like the rise and

fall of an emerging empire. Looking sideways

towards your Southern Hemisphere the curve

of your lower back, and its beads of early summer sweat,

looks as if it would be easily able to comfortably cradle

the entire earth, or at least my own small world.

Cradle of the Earth originally appeared in ‘The Voices Project’ and is contained in collection titled “Country Songs and Backroad Love Notes.”