Swallow the Moon

A Poem for Pregnant Elise

By and by,

Baby will be coming soon

You, who have

Swallowed the moon

Now follow the course of its arc in-utero

waxing into fullness within

(Who knew you could hold the moon in your belly?)

carrying this ethereal weight

beyond fullness and ripeness, into bruisy, turning juiciness

Bearing, with its majesty,

Bearing down darkness, down-ness, too

Yes, sometimes,

The dark side of the moon whips its scythe over fluffy pink and blue-ness

Though Darkness

also bears its gift—a Question,

revealing Mystery

of Birth, of Soul Appearing from Shadow

and as you stay open, open! as darkness grows,

You may find within that Shadow

the Joy you seek, too

of Love crowning and descending upon you

Revealing what it means to

Mother, to be constant—to be pock-marked and battered

to be luminescent and light, a comfort in the night

to be loved, to ache within

waxing and waning

again and again,

Oh holy holy

roly-poly

Mother Moon

© by Ami Chen Mills-Naim, 2007