Maternal Memories

Maternal Memories

I am told that I will forget,
How it feels right now,
To be a vessel for
Something so important
As another’s total life.
It is said I won’t remember
The feelings of
Total responsibility.

That every movement thrills me,
How I’m scared of all I do
Should anything cause any harm to you.
The love which suffuses all thought
Could surely not be lost to me.
How can I possibly forget
You react to every mood,
Moving to my tone and colour.
Intimately part of me
As one, we are two together.
Until, at once, a violent act
Will tare us both asunder.

Least I forget, I feel it now
So I write down quickly
As memory begins to fade, Already!
It has been but seven hours
Since you emerged from within
And announced your presence in the world,
And yet the memory fails.



This was written shortly after Christopher was born