Synkroniciti is thrilled to welcome North Carolina poet Daun Daemon with “At Three” and “Between the Sheets,” two poems that speak to the power of motherhood and the different roles mothers play, from protectors to playmates. “At Three” chronicles the shock of perceiving herself alone and unsupervised for the first time, her mother engaged in putting away laundry. “When the last circle was turned, I looked/ to see if you were proud of me, your big girl/ who could ride her tricycle on the patio.// You weren’t there.” It’s a fleeting moment, but focusing on it shows us fear in one of its purest forms and foreshadows death, which physically separates parents and children with a cutting finality. The pacing of the poem is controlled and slow, the moment devastating–“On the ironing board, the iron stood upright,/ its plug dangling above the floor.” We stand in awe, watching that plug swing gently, yet ominously, but the three-year-old mind is afraid for only a few seconds before pushing on. “Between the Sheets” explores laundry in more depth, revealing how simple cleaning practices shape our identities and express our love for one another. Daun shows us family rituals that are remarkable not in their complexity, but in their simple authenticity. We can almost hear her childhood laughter and her mother “singing where is she? where is she hiding?/ all the while knowing her baby girl was there between the sheets/ because I giggled and could not quiet my flip-flopping feet.” Daun’s use of sensory imagery is quite striking while remaining relatable.
Read ”At Three” and “Between the Sheets” in our “Family” issue, available here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Daun Daemon—an English-teaching, yarn-loving, Prosecco-swilling, poem-writing, non-meat-eating, crazy cat lady—grew up in the North Carolina foothills and spent many happy hours in her mama’s home beauty shop. When her mama was distracted by rattail combs and brush rollers, Daemon eavesdropped on the women. When her mama wasn’t distracted, she sat outside with her cats and watched the shenanigans at the auto mechanics garage across the street.
Her stories and poems have appeared in numerous journals. Her debut collection of poems, A Prayer for Forgiving My Parents, was published in 2023. She teaches scientific communication at her alma mater, NC State University, and lives in Raleigh with her husband and three cats.