The Chinese Mother’s Lullaby

Pull in your feet, little darling, so I can kiss your wee trotters while I fold under a toe and another one underneath. I bend a little piggie. I bend another little piggie And look at that naughty little piggie that is still sticking out. Now, now, my treasure, there is work to be done here. Your toes like fairy thimbles, the blossom of the foxglove. Like a calf that is spancelled or a hobble on a chicken, there will be swaddlings of silk on the feet of my dear. That my daughter now shrieks like a blue jay is no matter, she will sway in the future like a bamboo on a windy day or like a willow sapling. So I bend under the big toe and another toe after to form a foot like a lotus about to unfold. Poor Cliodhna has flat feet. Maire has huge ones. Peggy’s are like spades and Niamh’s like two rakes. Just hold still, my dearie, while I tighten your bindings. I’m only your mammy doing my very best for your sake