holding you

Hey there, doppowitch! This is Alex, and I'll be reviewing your poetry though. I've been seeing you around a lot recently, and I thought- what better way to welcome you than let you know how much I loved your work? Let's get started~

the miracle you were
the joy you spread everywhere

I'm fairly surprised you were able to make me think of a child so effortlessly here. The later line could be taken in context for a deceased loved one, but the 'miracle' in the former line really clears stuff off. You say little and convey much- commendable!

i wonder still
how it felt like to be there

Sensing a tinge of regret here, but it only slightly aches. Did the narrator make a concious choice of not being in their kid's life? If so, why? We may never truly know, but we're free to speculate. I don't think the words are backed down by guilt though, so it seems that there was no real choice in the matter. Perhaps someone with a demanding job (in the army perhaps) had to abandon their child for something bigger? I'm sensing it's from a mother's perspective, given the tender words.

how many toys you had
or how many stories you heard

This made shivers run down my spine! It seems the parent has been absent from their kid's life- intentionally or unintentionally. With how beautifully things are phrased, I'm leaning towards this being out of their hand. I also get the hint that it's the narrator who's dead, wondering how the child fared without them. And if that idea isn't all too good in itself!

did they cradle you well
you were simply too much
too much for the hands
that never learned
how to hold you

Oh, I can't tell you how much I loved this part. The portrayal of care is surreal! A parent is worried their child may have been not treated with the same gentle hands they would've, if they could've nurtured them instead. It really establishes the bond of a parent of child, reigning over distance and time. It also signifies that the child needs careful parenting, and they might've matured before they should've, as they never had someone to protect them so fiercely.

you were the prettiest
prettiest shade of blue
perhaps the sea, or the sky
maybe that's why they couldn't hold you
they weren't atlas
and you were the giant blue
that held it all

The love the parent holds for their child is so obvious here! They never blame the ones who couldn't care for him all too well, and instead acknowledge their limitations. The child was the sky, and only the parent could cradle them as gently as they deserved to be. I had to search up the reference about atlas, but I think it was pretty cool. It's like saying the child was too special to be held right by normal people, who were bound to find the job overwhelming.

Overall, this was beautiful! Simple, yet powerful. The ambiguity of what actually happened puts me off the slightest, but that's because I'm only starting to get accustomed with the 'open to interpretation' themes. Also, I'm not too sure I decoded the story so far, and I might be completely in the wrong here. But either way, this was totally worth reading! That's all I have for now. Keep writing, until next time~

Love, Alex