PILLOW
PILLOW
By Farah Lawal Harris, 2024
I desired to be pillow, soft and unassuming.
Nobody hates pillows.
If I could stuff my tummy with white feathers,
there’d be enough cushion, enough down
to ensure I don’t bust my ass.
It became impossible to pull pants above hips,
torture to sit through long meetings without segregating
belly from button.
I heard a soft womb balances a hard heart.
But here’s the thing about pillows.
They feel nothing.
I felt nothing, a numb sleepwalker.
Often, I’d see feathers,
hints of how light I could be
if I would just let go,
how I could float, suspend in the air,
be weightless like laughter.
I stopped letting sleepwalkers lay their burdens down on me
like topsheets.
I once desired to be a pillow;
now I am the peaceful sleep.