“Green Birth”
Seed-napped from my mother to be
nestled amongst dry feathers
I soon fall from my soft womb
and plunge downwards,
as a wet drop would,
to smack into the earth
and wriggle my way into the dirt.
Just born, but heavy with my own child
pleasure as I give out my first root
it reaches beneath me through soil
to find all the food it can eat
looting the earth like a bear
snorting its way
through a beehive.
Another pressure released
birth a second time
a stem shoots heavenward
and my eye blind from dirt
suddenly awash in light
and heat
to nourish my growing stalk.
As a chick bursts
from her shell chirping
its way into the world,
my first leaf opens
its green mouth
crying for sunlight.
Thrice leaves unfurl
more roots shoot downward
and boots thud nearby
but avoid my new beauty
my patch in the fauna.
My trunk becomes strong
new dry bark my armor
brown limbs stretch
ready to bear the ripe,
swelling sacks
of birth once again.
