What makes baby irresistible
is candid decrepitude
held so gracefully.
Wrinkled and sagged
a zillion-year-old skin
stacked on its tiny skeleton
yet clear of all attitude
only wisdom
that of pretending none.
Little beast, born a centenarian
but without a lament
totters by with unsteady majesty.
Such conspicuous fragility
grizzled innocence
in its meek stare.
Eyes black corals
buried by timeless oceans
submerged by rippling sand.
—
Toti O’Brien is the Italian Accordionist with the Irish Last Name. She was born in Rome then moved to Los Angeles, where she makes a living as a self-employed artist, performing musician and professional dancer. Her work has most recently appeared in DIN Magazine, Panoplyzine, Courtship of Wind, and Colorado Boulevard.
The Zingara Project 