Astronaut

Rotating with no axis,
unfurled tether
keeping you in place.

The atmosphere around you
unbreathable,
so air comes to you.

Extraterrestrial glow
illuminating
the dimness

As you spin and twirl,
no upside down
or right side up,

Weightless,
waiting,
your hand before
your face

Waving to Earth.

Unexpected

Tricky boy, you sneaked in behind the midwife's back,
fooling me into believing I wasn't pushing,
that you wouldn't be arriving till morning at least,
that we had time,
long, monstrous hours to fill,
instead of intense, rapturous, terrible minutes.
You slipped out to our surprise,
a splash that we didn't catch — couldn't —
you too slippery for us to contain or predict,
a flashing red-purple,
wriggling in the water, and finally hauled in,
turning it around
and catching us in your net.



 

Happy Mother's Day to you!

Read more parenting poetry in (affiliate link)
Poetry of a Hobo Mama: The First Three Years, a collection of poems about natural and attachment parenting.