The Day You Were Born

My mother-in-law said -

A woman who gives birth is herself born a second time

It touched my souls depths and inspired this rhyme

I felt something new within me after that day -

A day of a genesis, of new birth and new lives

A day of agony and distress and of cries

A day of euphoria and strength and changed lives

A day of looking into those tiny little eyes

My husband said -

How agonizing it was when they cut open my body

It took many hands to pull apart the tissues all ruddy

But forgetting all in moments as we laid our eyes on you -

A glimpse of bliss, of rapture, of sweet rhapsody

A glimpse of hearts stolen at the first sight of your tiny body

A glimpse of soft cries, of soft hands, of a thing of beauty

A glimpse of our bond, of innocence and of purity

My mother said -

She could not bear it when she saw my heart beats sinking

Walking out hiding tears she hoped I didn’t get an inkling

But when the new grand mom held you in her arms, it was -

A memory of her own story of my birth, of her strength and of her mirth

A memory of her own journey, her struggles, her growth on my birth

A memory of the countless joys it fetches and the many lives it touches

A memory of how a tiny smile arrests us in its clutches

My sister said -

The pain was beyond what you should bear

She stood by me when I was in utter despair

Her presence was my source of strength and together we had -

A celebration of life, of rapture and joys untold

A celebration of a tiny being, life long to hold

A celebration of motherhood’s care so manifold

A celebration of a treasure, more precious than gold

My God said -

He would never leave me nor forsake me even unto my last breath

And not to fear even in the valley of the shadow of death

I held onto Him with every thread of hope and of faith and He was -

A God of strength, a tower of refuge, a mighty stronghold

A God of peace, of forbearance and power to be bold

A God of mighty hope, of fulfilled dreams, of promises foretold

A God of jubilation, of happiness, of warmth when my heart grew cold

And then,

My Overwhelmed Heart said -

I am undeserving to receive this precious little bundle of joy -

Will I be able to nurture, to nourish and bring up this sweet little boy?

And amidst all of the pain and chaos an assuring voice from within me said -

Now, no matter what, from this day on, my life would be -

A guiltless sacrifice of self, of plans, of a future, of wishes and dreams

A love that gushes like the rivers and pleases like the streams

A warfare that protects all the boundaries and mends all the seams

A prayer whose ever burning incense ascends to the heavens each day like beams