Colostrum

We are not born
with tears. Your

first dozen cries
are dry.

It takes some time
for the world to arrive

and salt the eyes.

Kevin Young is the author of 16 books of poetry and prose, including, most recently, Night Watch. He is the poetry editor at The New Yorker and the editor of A Century of Poetry in The New Yorker: 1925–2025.

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