You stretched
miraculously,
heroically,
to harbor
new life
until it
could breathe
on its own.
Holding
that power,
that strength,
softened you.
Now
I wish for
a maiden’s belly
or better yet
a young man’s:
smooth,
rock-like,
impervious.
And you
keep
showing me
softness
under which
is an unshakable
center
through which
flows life,
growth,
change,
time.
Thank you
for offering me
these twins
softness and strength
after my long
initiation—
pregnancy,
birth,
motherhood.
Now I cross
a new threshold
where my blood,
my power,
stays
within me.
I claim it.
I claim you.
Photo by Fernando Paredes Murillo
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