A girl, a girl!
named Jupiter?
Already the infant has sucked
her snotty cousins into her wide-eyed web
They spin around her cooing
Her mother chooses a white dress
She lifts her girl to the sunlight
The baby kicks her sturdy legs
raises a right-handed fist, giggles
The teacher notices fierce eagle resolve
in the tiny curly-haired girl
ringlets halo her face
She grabs all the blocks to herself
Bands of light follow her, unseen, pulling
bands of moon-faced girls into her orbit
She is the hot spot, unburned dazzling
She will collect lovers
stars in her celestial body
hoarding them in her heaven
letting them bask in her beams
Thunder bolts let loose
when she eclipses them
She is massive, god-mother
The children and their children cluster about her
They rest in her, baby birds in the ancient oak tree
whispering her name
Amy Caponetto Galloway grew up in Pleasantville, NY and has worked in publishing, retail and most recently as a fifth-grade educator for 18 years, now retired. She earned an MFA in writing from Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY in 2014. She loves to observe people and capture their essence with words.
