Wire Mother 

Wire mother, better than nothing
Another fire without smoke
I poke at the embers for warmth,
for something, but remember nothing

Wire mother does her best, and
In the balm of solitude, silver linings thrive,
Calm and careful, lightly I am alive
Loneliness is a frenemy, certainty a phantom

What can a scientist possibly learn about love
Burning up precious days in a lab alone,
Obsessed with monkeys and impossible choices
Numb and deaf to yearnings, voices from home

Our monkeys meet high up in a tree
They see something in the other, smell it in the air
Wary, precarious, scary these heights
Night is falling around us, don’t look down

Hold my gaze, because these days are precious
For remembering what we already know
In our hearts, our imaginations, in our bones
That some baby monkeys find their way
And some scientists can never go home