For A
Mother-to-Be
Nothing could have
prepared
Your heart to open like this.
From beyond the skies and
the stars
This echo arrived inside you
And started to pulse with
life,
Each beat a tiny act of growth,
Traversing all our ancient
shapes
On its way home to itself.
Once it began, you were no
longer your own.
A new, more courageous you, offering itself
In a new way
to a presence you can sense
But you have not seen or known.
It has made you feel
alone
In a way you never knew before;
Everyone else sees only from the
outside
What you feel and feed
With every fiber of your
being.
Never have you traveled
farther inward
Where words and thoughts become half-light
Unable to reach
the fund of brightness
Strengthening inside the night of your
womb.
Like some primeval
moon,
Your soul brightens
The tides of essence
That flow to your
child.
You know your life has
changed forever,
For in all the days and years to come,
Distance will
never be able to cut you off
From the one you now carry
For nine months
under your heart.
May you be blessed with
quiet confidence
That destiny will guide you and mind you.
May the emerging spirit of
your child
Imbibe encouragement and joy
From the continuous music of your
heart,
So that it can grow with ease,
Expectant of wonder and
welcome
When its form is fully filled
And it makes its journey
out
To see you and settle at last
Relieved, and glad in your
arms.
~ John O'Donohue
~
(To Bless the Space Between
Us)
(left button to play, right button
to save)