Crone Belly

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.

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Photo by Fernando Paredes Murillo