BIRTH AND REBIRTH 
By Susan 

The pains come every 5 minutes. 
I breathe through them feeling 
A mix of joy, fear, sadness. 
In just hours I will give birth. 
I will hold my baby in my arms. 

He or she will be strong, healthy, 
Independent, loving, intelligent. 
I will teach this child all that I can. 
He or she is a gift from God. 

Another pain, and another, and … 
She bursts forth from my womb. 
“It’s a girl”, they say. 
I am excited, exhausted, relieved. 
I can rest a little now that the 
Waves of pain have subsided and 
I have done my job, my labor. 

Fast forward 18,20,22 years. 
The waves of pain begin again. 
But this is different yet the same. 
This young adult that I have helped 
To grow strong, independent, healthy, 
loving, intelligent, is bursting forth. 
It is clear that her environment now 
Blocks her growth and has become cramped. 
She must push against me as she did 
In the womb to break free to a new birth. 
She is ready to leave home and be on her own. 
My job, to labor with the waves of pain, joy, 
Fear, sadness and deliver her to the world. 

She bursts forth, bags packed ready to 
Take on the world on her own terms. 
“She is an adult”, the world says. 
I am excited, exhausted, relieved but sad. 
The waves of pain don’t seem to subside yet. 
I have done my job, my labor of releasing her.