cannon of love

standing three steps away
you are naked, vibrant.
your belly is exposed.

our world is now a touchable round.

i trace your curves,
gulping for my breath.
my eyes and throat burn.
i am merely water and salt,
exploding in awe.

your body holds three brains, three hearts, six kidneys, thirty toes.
every day i get to see see your skin stretch a stronger home.
i rub your head, your feet, your shoulders
imagining every cell within you feels touched.

i am not the father,
nor will i know these children moving in me.
but i am a cannon of love,
a well of hope,
a circus of imagination,
and i've never wanted anything more than this role of mother.

balance

i will never give birth
but my mother gave birth eleven times to eleven children,
and your mother will give birth one time to two children.
i have known wonderwomen.

i wonder if my mother wondered about us the way i wonder about the two of you.

who will you be?
will i be enough?
will i balance you both evenly
on my hips
in my schedule
through your first breaths
into adulthood?

i hate malls and purses,
but i love guitars and bubble baths.
whatever your fondness, i will adore you both.

you will know judaism, catholicism, buddhism, capitalism, socialism
and i will never decide what is right for you.

darling one and darling two,
practice goodness toward yourself and others
and feel part of something bigger than you.