Jocelyn Paredes

Little One

Before you, my days were secreted

with gloom. The unruly rituals

and trials were endlessly disappointing.

I desired desperately to spawn

life in my womb.

“It’s a girl,” said the nurse, handing me

your crying vessel. Rich and luminous

you were—my little mount of sunshine.

Wounding me slow, scarring me deeper

is knowing that I must let you fulfill

your destiny of sunning someone else’s essence.

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Jocelyn Paredes is currently a sophomore studying English and creative writing at the State University of New York at Fredonia. She is an emerging poet based in New York and her passion for poetry and knowledge of the craft continues to expand on a daily basis. Currently, she adores the poets Misha Collins, Pablo Neruda, and Richard Siken.