Poem: Supple Cord
Author: Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952) [bio] 
1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
2<author>
3  <person id="8820" sex="2" role="author">
4    <name>
5      <firstname>Naomi Shihab</firstname>
6      <lastname>Nye</lastname>
7    </name>
8    <life-events>
9      <date ty="birth" circa="false" suffix="ad">1952</date>
10      <text-value>(b. 1952)</text-value>
11    </life-events>
12    <biography>y</biography>
13  </person>
14</author>
15
1

My brother, in his small white bed,

held one end.

I tugged the other

to signal I was still awake.

5

We could have spoken,

could have sung

to one another,

we were in the same room

for five years,

10

but the soft cord

with its little frayed ends

connected us

in the dark,

gave comfort

15

even if we had been bickering

all day.

When he fell asleep first

and his end of the cord

dropped to the floor,

20

I missed him terribly,

though I could hear his even breath

and we had such long and separate lives

ahead.

25

30

35

Used by permission.

To cite this poem:

MLA
Nye, Naomi Shihab. “Supple Cord.” Columbia Granger's World of Poetry Online. 2026. Columbia University Press. 12 Mar. 2026. <http://www.columbiagrangers.org>.

Chicago Manual of Style
Naomi Shihab Nye. “Supple Cord.” Columbia Granger's World of Poetry Online. http://www.columbiagrangers.org (accessed March 12, 2026). 

          
          1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
2<poem id="00000288836" titleid="00000288836P01" selectionid="00000288836" primary="y">
3  <fulltext>y</fulltext>
4  <subjects>
5    <subject id="7825">
6      <subject-name>Siblings</subject-name>
7    </subject>
8  </subjects>
9  <sources>
10    <source id="10753">
11      <source-title>American Life in Poetry</source-title>
12    </source>
13    <source id="9966942">
14      <source-title>Arab American Poetry</source-title>
15    </source>
16  </sources>
17  (: Variant sources/title :)
18  <sources-variant-block />
19  (:This was specifically set to the root author; change to the selection 2008-03-12 bug 0310 :)
20  <authors>
21    <author>
22      <person id="8820" sex="2" role="author">
23        <name>
24          <firstname>Naomi Shihab</firstname>
25          <lastname>Nye</lastname>
26        </name>
27        <life-events>
28          <date ty="birth" circa="false" suffix="ad">1952</date>
29          <text-value>(b. 1952)</text-value>
30        </life-events>
31        <biography>y</biography>
32      </person>
33    </author>
34  </authors>
35  <poem-selection id="00000288836" primary="y" parent="">
36    <citation-form id="00000288836P01" poemid="00000288836" selectionid="00000288836">
37      <title id="00000288836P01">Supple Cord</title>
38      <firstline>My brother, in his small white bed</firstline>
39      <lastline>And we had such long and separate lives / ahead</lastline>
40    </citation-form>
41    <fulltext processed="true" processed-lines="true">
42      <stanza>
43        <line n="1">My brother, in his small white bed,</line>
44        <line n="2">held one end.</line>
45        <line n="3">I tugged the other</line>
46        <line n="4">to signal I was still awake.</line>
47        <line n="5">We could have spoken,</line>
48        <line n="6">could have sung</line>
49        <line n="7">to one another,</line>
50        <line n="8">we were in the same room</line>
51        <line n="9">for five years,</line>
52        <line n="10">but the soft cord</line>
53        <line n="11">with its little frayed ends</line>
54        <line n="12">connected us</line>
55        <line n="13">in the dark,</line>
56        <line n="14">gave comfort</line>
57        <line n="15">even if we had been bickering</line>
58        <line n="16">all day.</line>
59        <line n="17">When he fell asleep first</line>
60        <line n="18">and his end of the cord</line>
61        <line n="19">dropped to the floor,</line>
62        <line n="20">I missed him terribly,</line>
63        <line n="21">though I could hear his even breath</line>
64        <line n="22">and we had such long and separate lives</line>
65        <line n="23">ahead.</line>
66        <line n="24" />
67        <line n="25" />
68        <line n="26" />
69        <line n="27" />
70        <line n="28" />
71        <line n="29" />
72        <line n="30" />
73        <line n="31" />
74        <line n="32" />
75        <line n="33" />
76        <line n="34" />
77        <line n="35">Used by permission.</line>
78      </stanza>
79    </fulltext>
80    <authors>
81      <author>
82        <person id="8820" sex="2" role="author">
83          <name>
84            <firstname>Naomi Shihab</firstname>
85            <lastname>Nye</lastname>
86          </name>
87          <life-events>
88            <date ty="birth" circa="false" suffix="ad">1952</date>
89            <text-value>(b. 1952)</text-value>
90          </life-events>
91          <biography>y</biography>
92        </person>
93      </author>
94    </authors>
95    <other-selections-by-translator />
96    <history-count>0</history-count>
97  </poem-selection>
98  <selection-titles>
99    <selection-title id="00000288836" primary="y" parent="" order="1">
100      <citation-form id="00000288836P01">
101        <title id="00000288836P01">Supple Cord</title>
102        <firstline>My brother, in his small white bed</firstline>
103        <lastline>And we had such long and separate lives / ahead</lastline>
104      </citation-form>
105      <fulltext>y</fulltext>
106    </selection-title>
107  </selection-titles>
108</poem>
109