Letter from the Maternity Ward After the Birth of Cole Ronin

I sit here,

Your great-grandchild in my arms,

Your granddaughter asleep.

My grandson not an hour old.

He cries, a healthy sound of air

Rushing from his tiny lungs.

You’re gone, but

Here now too, to hear him.

The word kol in Hebrew means voice

And ronin suggests song.

Thus, my father, you will see

That this little man must sing.

He opens his eyes to look up at me,

Questioning.

Bruce J. Berger is an MFA candidate in creative writing at American University in Washington, DC, working with poet David Keplinger. Bruce’s short fiction and poetry have been published in a variety of literary journals. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife, Laurie. His grandson, Cole Ronin Haim, was born on March 5, 2016.