The Beckoning Poetry Post Page


Poetry by Michael Baribeau



Added 13 April 2001

This is a section where I post poems sent to me by people who have found my site and wish to display their own works. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

This poem is by Michael Baribeaut


Four Now Three

Sleeping pups fill the pool of warm fur,
Luxuriant tangle of limbs.
Swirling cuddles and squabbles bubble up
And churn on the surface.

They flow through one another,
Splashing with fervor,
These gifts from the womb suckle
This soul sustaining milk.

Then one scooped ascends their cardboard world
Toes spread, screaming terrified yelps.
Groggy from innocence,
Sprawled they're awakened by the breathless void.

Heads raised as hungry hatchlings raided
Their chorus of cries circle their disarray.
In unison stop to hear the silent absence say
This bitterness is beyond tears and teats.

With her nose she nudges them tighter together,
Counting with no pause round and round,
Over and over and over...
Something twists in the mother.


BIO: Michael Lee Baribeau (Bear-rib-bow), aka Woeisme. Born 1964 in and still a resident of Michigan, USA. Presently living in the small rural town of Coral with my recently wedded wife Dawn who is expecting with our first child due March 2001. I've worked in my family's jewelry repair business, I affectionately call the "Family Curse", as a bench jeweler over the past 18 years. I also moonlight as a professional videographer taping weddings, lectures, and the like.

I have always enjoyed listening to music and reading poetry but a few years ago I had an epiphany. I actually heard for the first time what a violinist was trying to emote in his performance which truly moved me to the point of shouting aloud, "I get it!" (it was a recording thankfully:-) After that I started having a deeper understanding of metaphors of what poets were trying to express as well. Now I no longer enjoy these arts- instead they are a passion!

If you'd like to comment/critique my stuff or want to trade favorite poems email me at, mikedawn@pathwaynet.com