'You can't call a little lad sweetheart'
(Something I didn't expect to write)
Something weird happened to me last week. I’d taken Monday off, with Dan. And while I was supposed to be doing nothing (actually, I’m a bit embarrassed to say, I was in the middle of getting a facial) I had an idea for a poem.
It just sort of landed in my brain.
This, I should clarify, never happens to me. Sure, sometimes I walk around composing essays for this newsletter in my head – or with an idle idea for a book or an Instagram reel prodding at me. Sometimes a line of dialogue for the novel I’m writing wanders on in. But a poem? I don’t do that sort of writing. Do I?
(Truthfully, even now, I’m wondering if there are lots of rules I don’t know about that mean my idea doesn’t even count as a poem.)
But it wouldn’t leave me alone. So I wrote it. In the Notes app on my phone. I fiddled around with it for the next day or so, thinking I might post it on Instagram…Then I completely lost my nerve to share it.
Which is all to say, I’m posting it here, as a bit of an experiment. Among friends. In the hope that if you like my other writing, you might also like this. Or at least not be totally embarrassed for me.
New subscribers (welcome! 👋), this is very much not the norm for this newsletter – in case you’re wondering what on earth you signed up for – there will be an essay next week about whether ‘taboo’ is the right lens through which to think about pregnancy loss any more, followed by a fertility news round-up the week after that. (But if you are after poetry, can I direct you towards
who writes , combining poetry with reflections on IVF, miscarriage, matrescence, and other ‘in-betweens’).But, for now, here goes nothing:
Thank you for reading. If you like it, let me know. And if you hate it or are mortified for me, then let’s pretend this never happened and move on with our lives!
Until next week,
Love this Jennie, especially the final line, "why wouldn't we want boys to grow with honey in their hearts?". It makes me think of Ruth Whippman's book, Boy Mum. Have you read it? I may even have first heard about it in one of your newsletters. I think we all need to focus a lot more time and attention on growing boys with honey in their hearts alongside empowering girls.
Thanks so much for sharing your poem. It takes so much courage to step out of your comfort zone like this.
I love this especially because I call both my boys sweetheart. And after my husband said my kid was being really mean to his brother, my almost 8 yo asked me repeatedly if I was still his sweet boy. And I said of course he was, I know he has good intentions and we all can hurt others but that’s why repair is so important. And he hugged me and said I love you after putting the garbage cans back and sweetness is good for all of us.