“Birth”

by Adrienne D'Agostino

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The warm darkness explodes around him,

a cacophony of sounds that soon temper,

coalescing into a discordant symphony

that pains such ears as fresh as his. He feels

every sound,

every vibration,

every flash of vibrant, iridescent color;

every harsh angle of intense light piercing his senses,

slicing through the murmur of the womb.

Oh yes, hard enough it was to leave the safety

it so duly afforded his singular, emerging life –

but to emerge like a living projectile fired

from an ancient canon into a battle of sound and light;

but to meet the Old World's vagrant cousin

in such a harsh manner leaves much to be desired.

Of course he feels distressed, vulnerable,

Lost and disconnected from the unity

that had so maternally embraced him before.
But soon enough everything fades,

the grating sounds and sights that

had so burned his waking conscious

are almost now forgotten,

as gentle arms that tremble with emotion

reach out for him, pulling him close –

a return to the soothing warmth of Before.

He feels the rhythmic pounding of the only beat

he craves and loses himself back in that familiarity.

She has heard his cries, his pleas,

and She has answered in the way that comes natural

to us all.

Peace descends unbroken, but for the flashing in his mind,

reality sparks in a flash of startling clarity –

he knows.

Just as clearly as he recognizes his Mother's hand,

her cushioning breast,

the adored heartbeat, he knew

the Other the moment it touched his mind:

no hands,

no lips,

no arms.

Just love.