May Poem

On the eleventh day of May
A cry echoed the halls
Of Mercy Hospital
Two cries, really
Mom’s, because it was finally over
Mine, because it had just begun

I left the safe darkness of the womb
For the sterile darkness of the world
Its cold shot through my tiny frame
As frantic nurses persuaded Dad to
Snip the tether to my old world

There’s no going back now, just
Stumbling through the dark, for eighteen years
Pressing on with the memory of warmth
Desperately looking for a light switch

Only to find that I must be
born again

...

Photo by Nevin Ruttanaboonta on Unsplash