Poetry from Elena
Unborn
I feel
you play
in me
And I
smiling into the dark
Dream your light to life.
Into the Wide World
In my branches I hold you,
Beautiful bird,
To nest and to chirp,
To perch and observe
the bustling world all around.
In my branches I hold you,
Slumbering babe,
Nestled in the crook of my arm
I close my leaves around you,
Shelter your dreams
of flight.
In my branches you will poise,
Go out on my limb and
jump.
You will circle me once,
Marveling at how small
I am.
From the wide world to my branches
You will return from time to time,
Finding them always a sturdy roost,
Feeling
like home.
To Emily
I wished
For so many years
And with such anxious pleading
For your sweet presence
To come into my life.
Now that you are here,
More than the joy of your smile,
More than the love in your heart,
More than the beauty of your being,
You are the proof
That dreams do come true.
Waiting for Passage
Waiting for passage,
Deliverance from this weight,
New one to meet
at the other shore.
The darkness beckons.
I am floating too,
The measures of time
blur without meaning.
There are only heartbeats
to break this silence.
Suspended
upside down,
All sound is muffled
into soothing murmur.
The world moves
lulls us to sleep.
Waves of dreams
lap at the shore of our life.
Water’s still drift
swirls back
To stagnant thoughts
of passage,
deliverance.
No way out but through.
When the dam finally breaks,
swell released,
The struggling fish
will wriggle free.
Life will flow
down parched banks
And these bone rocks,
weighted with growth,
Will breathe sun once again.
For now I am trapped
at the edge of the dam.
Water presses me against
unyielding stone.
I dive into the black,
check for cracks,
Listen to the muted swirling,
for signs of the breaking,
Waiting for passage,
Ready for deliverance.
_________________________
Elena Margo Gould is Mama to five, writer and reader, teacher and student, currently residing in the foothills of the Appalachians. Her passion for natural and attachment parenting stems partly from lofty ideals of deep meaningful connection with family, Earth and Sky, and partly from her personal experience of N/AP being cheaper, easier and funner than the alternatives! She blogs at Wise Way Tribe about her journey of connection and reflection. Elena also volunteers as a moderator on the NPN Forums.
Beautiful! Made me reminisce about my pregnancies!
Ah! I love these. The branch symbolism of carrying and sheltering our babies, and the last poem speaking so eloquently of labor and birth. (Or, at least, that’s what I got from them!
) You write with such beauty and meaning — thank you for sharing, Elena!