In Your Son’s Arms

By Noah Vale

She looks for a father’s love in your son’s arms
ravaging a spine of light in dark matter
cheated out her dress by your son’s tongue

After what had felt like a dream
in her innocence she’s rushed out
once the sun’s out

And your son knows no better
his hunger mistaking her body for love

She carries the weight of absence
searching for a father’s hand
in a boy’s fragile grip

And her laughter is borrowed
her crown slipping from her head
a dream half remembered
left with the silence of unasked questions

Barefoot but unbroken,
learning
that pain is the only teacher that stays

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Noah Vale is a poet from Serowe, Botswana that writes poetry as an act of reflection and release, turning emotion into language and silence into story. Their work carries echoes of longing, hope, and the search for meaning in ordinary life.