When you were born, so was I
Before that momentous day, much work had to be done
A single, magical cell divided and multiplied
Limbs grew and organs formed
And dreams of a new life took shape
Obstacles and fears and uncertainties
Kept me awake at night
(and sometimes so did you
kicking inside my protuberant belly)
inane chatter of fear mongering folk
tried to fill my head and heart with doubt
get the epidural, schedule a c-section
won’t it hurt? Aren’t you scared??
but I knew
that my body was yours
made to carry you
made to deliver you
when the first rushes of labor started
I went for one of many long walks
Over several summer days,
I reveled
Giddy with anticipation of finally meeting you
The warm air, blue sky and green grass
The colors, sounds and smells
had they ever been so intense and vibrant?
As the third evening of labor settled around me
We packed up the car
And headed to the hospital
Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breath out
All around me, people headed out for the night
But I had entered into a parallel universe
Time expanded and contracted along with my belly
As you pivoted down my pelvis
The pain was irrelevant, inconsequential
I knew the work ahead of me that had to be done
I was prepared
and so were you
Sunday 2:50am
After 6 hours of hard, sweaty labor
Primal and perfect
I pushed you in to the midwife’s hands
And together we were born
Kristina Stevens
This poem is published with Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative
Works 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
5 comments:
Wow! This is really beautiful! I'm going to share it with my midwife and doula friends. Thanks for sharing your sweet talent with us.
Chicago ....you have talent and we "down under" bow to you... whale done! Lynda Lee (Midwife, IBCLC)Australia.
What a beautiful poem! A shared sentiment that brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Tank you for sharing such connection with your child and your woman's nature and trust!
Is it oK to share this with others??
Kristina is happy for her poem to be shared as long as it is attributed back to her :)
Post a Comment