Holding the Sky
By Śivani Howe
A dark cloud-bank bears
down on lake & land; pushes
on tips of trees the way an
overbearing mother lowers the
barometric pressure in a room
threatening tears.
I think it's gonna rain, he says.
My son's face: an angel in prayer
looks up at Sky & sighs. Beside him
I stand, paralyzed in patterns.
Perceiving him through
my pallet of maternal bruise,
I fear one wrong move
will break the skin
will break the bond
splitting the lip of love
'till words bleed out
piercing his soul with vitriol;
knowing one wrong look
will start the deluge
pouring tears into the lake
cracking the cup, his precious cup
already swimming
in ancestral sobs.
I really think it's gonna rain mum,
he says looking up at me
resigned.
Śivani Howe (she/her) is author of the poetry collection – THIS Is Written in the Stars – which gained #1 Hot New Release in Poetry (Amazon, 2024). She’s studying for her Masters at Pacific Oregon University and has been featured in The Poetry Lighthouse II, Upon Learning That Anthologies, and IHRAM Press: their Enduring Voices (2025, Quarter 3). Find more on her website.
Artwork Source: “Georges in the Forest,” Cécile Gonneau
Artist Statement: This work speaks of memories that linger in the heart, even as their details dissolve in the mind, year after year, until all that remains are quiet, shimmering symbols.
Cécile Gonneau is a French illustrator based in Belgium. In her black and white drawings, she unfolds an intense and mysterious universe, both sensitive and inhabited. Her preferred tool, the fineliner, allows her to render lush environments rich in detail with great naturalistic precision. Find more on her website.
The Turning Leaf Journal 