From the beautiful belly and its rich darkness

to light, sacred light – no matter if from

glass and glowing filament,

the bountiful, emanating sun,

or the shy companions of night –

and into human arms  –

 

And yes, you are one, too, a human being,

which is to say one born into sense –

the startling air (how it doesn't confine!),

hushed murmurs and blankets,

the commonplace remarks of the refrigerator,

the strangeness of seeing.

 

Dear, dear tiny being – before you are fully human,

remember the ether from which you came.

Hearken to that terrible squeeze

between the womb and the world,

that journey you willed and that willed you.

 

Then live your wild human time dancing

and grounded in the grand.

 

Fear not how fierce life comes on,

how drastic its demands;

But rather revel and rest

in the good milk and the breast,

and the strong tender father.

 

Hold fast both sky and clay,

and the amniotic dreams gifted only once.

 

May your reach, as Browning would have it,

always extend your grasp.

May the sky call you with music.

 

I would end with something

David Bowie wrote in “Starman,”

something for grown ups,

which is “Let all the children boogie.”

 

Boogie on, darling,

With rampant toes

and fledgling heart

and arms flamingoed in the air.