Monday, February 18, 2008

The Gift of the Magi

Increases of pure animal
Soft hips expanding by grace
You bore down
In a sieve
Toward stop
And you stayed at stop
For such a long time
Your groans grist
Your moaning lush

We waited the length
Of your pain
Not without blood
In our palms
How you died
Between contractions
Our continent
On all fours in the tub
Gurgling water
Pushing twilight
Trolling the underworld
Like a crustacean
As we stood upright
Against your mirror
And you gave us frankincense
As the vernix-white baby
Rushed our cavern
Like crows
Into hindsight
Leaving us changed

3 comments:

Mental Produce said...

a life changing experience, spoken with your eyes and words.
i thank you...
lorenzo will one day do the same
holli

staceygriff said...

beautiful. between holli's photo's and this beautiful piece, I have a mental image of how it all played out. I love the line "trolling the underworld,like a crustacean." I'm not sure why that part hit me and stands out, but it did and I like it. I also remember the dying between contractions. Very nice Shari.

Unknown said...

Yes... I lived it too. Thank you for touching that place again with your words -rona