April 17 is the first annual Poem In Your Pocket Day. The idea is to carry a poem with you on that day and read it aloud whenever you like – with family, friends, colleagues, etc.   Or post it on your blog, add it to your email footer, text it to your friends... use your imagination!

I’m choosing the poem by Jennie Doering below. What will you choose?  I'm hosting a carnival on April 17 so if you choose to pubish a poem on your blog that day (or write about how you celebrated Poem In Your Pocket Day), let me know!

Functions Of Motherhood

If the sick 18 month old naps at 3:30, eats at 5, collapses at 7:40, cries at 1, is sick at 3, sick again at 5, awakens fussy at 8 - how much sleep did this mother get? Solve for x.

Find the lowest common denominator
of three spiking fevers; the product
of exhausted efforts, the greater sum
of your parts.

Borrow, when you need to,
carry when you must (integers, medicines, life).
When you multiply,
divide your labors,
solve for differences and
memorize the quotient of survival.

It becomes second nature, calculating constantly
(the estimated time until the next dosage, nearest bathroom,
the variable of tantrums) - and amid the jumble
of numbers and schedules, you'll find yourself
staring at the midnight ceiling, digits
spinning, mind swirling, thriving
on the universal content of their need.