Who celebrated the day of my birth?
Was it like I was the only child,
Or was I just another one?
As I shared my life with brothers
Who had already taken their place,
Was there a place for me?
Was I ever going to make my mark
Or did my arrival go largely unnoticed?
I saw you from the start.
When two tiny cells first joined
And began a chain reaction of life,
I was there.
Your unformed body, your unthought
Thoughts, your unconscious awareness:
I was present and you knew me there.
As you grew I breathed my life-giving
Breath into you and knitted each strand
Of your DNA together until you were
Uniquely you; flesh of your parents’ flesh
And bone of their bone, but still you.
I watched you and I loved you and
I saw to it that you were safely held
Until the day you would be birthed.
On that day I sang over you and
There was joy throughout the cosmos.
I held you in those moments when
Your mother laid you down so that
You were never not held,
And my presence always with you.