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when i was pregnant, she told me

reaching back more than twenty years

for the memory

i put sunflower seeds on my belly

i used to read aloud to my son

so he could hear our bones

i love our voices, she said

chickadee & sparrow flutter down

lured by the seeds and undisturbed

by our voices

i put your hand on my belly

i invite you to read this aloud

i want to listen to our bones

& to love our voices, for a little while

Joanne Arnott is a Metis poet living on Canada’s west coast.