Birth / Rebirth

Birth / Rebirth

how must it feel

to be warmly embraced in the womb

immersed one minute

then whisked to the light the next

for the first time

breathe...cry...see

every moment a revelation

swaddled in blankets

laid on breast

of the one who loved you first and always

that heartbeat you have known

like a drumbeat in the darkness

homing beacon in blaring light

how strange to be born into a new world

from another who has nurtured

from your first moment of life

at what point are we aware

of our beginning

will our ending be the same, I wonder...

not death we fear

but rebirth from this world, our womb

into the next

Comments: 30

David W. Aug 30, 2012, 10:08am UTC

Metaphorically speaking or literal statement, this is tender, frightening and beautiful.

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 3:21pm UTC

Thanks, David. I have sense that that is how it will be...tender, frightening, and beautiful.

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Diane Huizenga Aug 30, 2012, 12:56pm UTC

Wow so very beautiful, a tribute to every mother.

Thanks for sharing with Surreal Circus Now featured

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 3:20pm UTC

Thanks, Diane. A wonderful comment. Seeing the trials a woman faces giving birth should make any man appreciative for the effort she makes.
Thanks for the feature.
Ready for another poem yet?

Diane Huizenga Sep 3, 2012, 7:53am UTC

sure anytime

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ʚϊɞ Carol ʚϊɞ Aug 30, 2012, 1:21pm UTC

Such beautiful inspiration.

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 3:17pm UTC

Thank you, Carol. I don't write them with the thought of inspiring others, but pleased that they do.

ʚϊɞ Carol ʚϊɞ Aug 31, 2012, 3:23pm UTC

No doubt it is packed full of inspiration.

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Kevin E. Aug 30, 2012, 3:30pm UTC

Steve good buddy I never looked at birth from the point of view of a baby. You have enlightned me very much, thank you. Your poetry just gets better and better!

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 3:17pm UTC

Thank you , Kev...I really appreciate the comments you leave. I appreciate them all.

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Rayda Renshaw Aug 30, 2012, 5:51pm UTC

Very moving. Beautiful!

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 3:16pm UTC

Thank you for your comment, Rayda. I love that you read my material. Commenting takes time, and you do it anyway... Much appreciated...

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Alison H. Aug 30, 2012, 9:39pm UTC

We must forget what came before in order to become something new...still, "Trailing clouds of glory do we come..." ~Wordsworth, and I like to think we return to that glory of peace, rest and being "home."

Alison H. Aug 30, 2012, 9:39pm UTC

Nicely penned!

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 3:14pm UTC

There is a transition coming of some sort...but I can wait...!
Thank you for your comments, Alison.

Alison H. Aug 31, 2012, 9:24pm UTC

:-D

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Ann Marcaida Aug 31, 2012, 2:11pm UTC

Very perceptive poem, Steve. I know that children under the age of 3 are not supposed to be able to form long-term memories, but I still believe that some of us remember the trauma of birth.

Thanks for sharing with Gather's Luminous Writers and Artists. Featured.

Heather - child of God, C. Aug 31, 2012, 2:17pm UTC

My first memory is of being in a crib. My mother walked in the room and I recognized her and she said, "You are awake Heather" and I thought, Heather, that is me...Right before I turned two my parents bought a bunk bed and I was told only my older sister could sleep there that I couldn't until I stopped wetting at night. So I awoke each day with a dry diaper and indeed I slept in the bunkbed before I was 2... thus I have memories prior to the age of 2.

Ann Marcaida Aug 31, 2012, 3:02pm UTC

My husband claims to have a memory from before his birth, when his mother nearly miscarried him.

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 3:07pm UTC

That's nothing...I was born with a black eye from my patents actually conceiving me... :)

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 3:12pm UTC

Totally random thought...
On tumblr yesterday...

"Rice is great to eat if you're really hungry and feel like eating 2000 of something...!"

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 3:13pm UTC

Thank you for the wonderful comments and feature, BTW!

Ann Marcaida Aug 31, 2012, 4:07pm UTC

Makeup sex?

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 4:16pm UTC

Make out sex... :)

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t b. Aug 31, 2012, 2:41pm UTC

This is the most beautiful prose I've ever read!

stephen berwaldt Aug 31, 2012, 3:12pm UTC

Wow...that comment is worthy of framing...Thank you.

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t b. Aug 31, 2012, 3:42pm UTC

You are very welcome.

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elizabeth evans Aug 31, 2012, 6:29pm UTC

I am sure your daughter will print this and put a copy of it in Boston's baby book so that someday he will read it and maybe share with you what it was like to come out of the darkness into the light.

Enjoy your stay in England!

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Birth / Rebirth

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Comments: 30

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