after Carver

the baby worth its weight in liquidisers
the baby running a protection racket from the womb
the baby with the luminous green clock face
the baby with its own supermarket trolley
the baby chucking up gruelly stuff down my back
surprise baby
the clammy handshake, goo-goo smile,
never-says-this-never-does-that-presidential-candidate baby
the baby enjoying a good poo on the carpet
the baby with its finger on the button
the baby covered in flies
the baby we stare at but don’t help
the baby that never cries
techno baby
the baby addicted to ketchup and raspberries
the baby with footballer’s legs
the baby whose first word is ‘jam-jar’
clever baby
the baby with ancient balding dreams
the baby that didn’t show
the baby we never talk about
the baby at the centre of the universe

our baby

Copyright © Peter Carpenter, 2007.

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Peter Carpenter lives in Kent, and is the co-director of Worple Press. His most recent collection, Catch, was published by Shoestring Press, Nottingham. Recent poems have appeared in The Rialto and Poetry Ireland Review, and reviews in London Magazine and Use of English.