Illustration by Diana Bwengye after the poem Embraces at Bedtime by Daphine Arinda

…The repetitive phrases in “Embraces at Bedtime” call to mind the intimacy and comfort lost between a mother and her daughter when the mother is scarred by sexual abuse from their own childhood. The underlying narrative casts a sinister shadow over the childlike rhyme of its structure. … Read the full intro here.

EMBRACES AT BEDTIME

On nights she asks me to tuck her in
I lay in bed with her
Wishing sweet dreams for Kijon. 

Like prey in hiding, besides her I stiffen
Yet an embrace would warm and lull her
On nights she asks me to tuck her in.  

Embraces at bedtime are memories of aversion
I am afraid and I never touch her
Wishing sweet dreams for Kijon. 

I remember embraces with darkness sealed within
Vile touches that make innocence whither
On nights she asks me to tuck her in. 

I wait to escape when sleep does her in
For this darkness, I cannot transfer
Wishing sweet dreams for Kijon. 

I sing lullabies in a hushed tone
“Hush, hush my little one”, I whisper
On nights she asks me to tuck her in
Wishing sweet dreams for Kijon.