when you’re born all wet
and sloppy from your mother’s womb
when you’re exhausted
after a day of play or work
to tease your brother
sister or lover without hurting
to soak up your tears
to muffle your cries
to comfort and cushion
any part of you bruised or broken
when you’re not well
when you can’t be with anyone else
when you’ve died
peaceful and dignified.
Michael Favala Goldman is an award-winning poet, jazz clarinetist, and translator of Danish literature. Michael’s eight books of original poetry include Small Sovereign and What Minimal Joy which took first place at the 2022 Los Angeles Book Festival and the 2024 IPNE Awards respectively. Among his seventeen translated books is Dependency by Tove Ditlevsen, which made the New York Times Best Books of the Century as book three of The Copenhagen Trilogy. He has been running poetry critique groups since 2018. https://michaelfavalagoldman.com/
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