Nine Months: A Poem

When Gavin turned nine months old, I remember marking the occasion in my mind. Nine months inside, nine months outside. It seemed significant somehow. Bennett turned nine months old this week, and again, it feels heavy with meaning. Hence, this poem:

Nine Months

For My Boys

  

Into my body you burrowed—

a parasite that broke open

my hips, raised my blood

pressure, and stretched my ligaments

until I swelled ripe like a plum.

I couldn’t wait to be free.

The doctors cut you from me,

and I heard you squawk

before I saw you—

then a series of howls

that didn’t cease

until I held you skin to skin.

Now you’ve been outside

as long as you were in

and it’s you seeking freedom—

twisting your torso to deliver

yourself from my arms

and on to the floor…

           

            …crawling into independence.

Gavin at 9 months

Bennett at 9 months