Your cries of pain reached my heart,
Too far away for hearing,
Remembering my own time,
I felt your birth pangs
As if they were my own.
The rise, the fall, the sea waves unabating
Long before the real work began-
I remembered it as yesterday,
The push, the pain, the sudden sharp burning,
The breathtaking release.
I remembered your cries then as now,
As they pierced my heart with joy and longing.
And when I reached you, finally, in the night,
My eyes, my ears, my heart sought you alone.
I barely glanced at the glad bundle
Cradled so gently on her father's breast.
My arms enfolded you, my lips kissed the dried tears upon your cheek,
And I whispered into your perfect shell-like ear
The sacred words,
Those secret words,
The words I'd tucked away, holy, safe for all these many years:
Welcome to the sisterhood, my love,
Welcome
March 3, 2002
