For Chloe
If a tear-cross and kiss count
Today I baptised you
While no-one was watching.

It was not a declaration of faith
It was too kin-folk being
Who they had to be
While no-one was watching.


I would have liked
To sing you a lullaby
But I couldn’t think
Of any.

Your Mummy and Daddy
Thought you might be musical
And we all noted your hands -
Long fingered pianist
You played sad Chopin
In my mind for me
While I found humming
One pulsing lullaby impossible.

Chloe, your mummy would have
Liked to take you home,
Instead she has tablets
To stop her lactating
And your Daddy dreams
Of such a remedy
For tears.
Home
Poetry Now 05/04
Chloe (also Chloë, Cloe or Chloé) is a popular first or given name, especially in England.
In Northern Ireland, Chloe was the most popular name for newborns from 1997 to 2002.
The name comes from the Greek χλόη (khlóē), meaning "green shoot"
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