~Instructions for attending a normal birth~
Watch me.
Watch me lean over and groan.
Watch me sway or rock or dance.
Watch me find my rhythm.
Watch me breathe through a contraction.
As it ends, watch me have a drink of water.
Then watch me relax myself, resting, waiting for the next wave.
Then watch me breathe again.
As you sit there, just outside the vortex, know that my world has shrunk to a bubble.
Be careful. Don’t burst it.
A careless word, a bright light… they would be unwelcome right now.
Watch in awe I play out the age-old miracle.
The world turns for me, the edges go fuzzy, time turns inside out.
There’s a big slithery feeling
And then there’s a BABY!
Warm and slippery and fresh from my own body.
Worth every push, grunt, drop of sweat.
Worth every tightening, every stretch mark.
Wait! I’m still in my bubble. It is not finished yet.
Keep your hats and your clamps and your scissors and needles.
Keep your telephones, your scales, your exclamations
Keep us warm and keep the room quiet and still.
Watch me meet me baby.
Watch his eyes find mine.
Watch his hands and then his mouth find my nipple.
Watch me discover in wonder each finger, each hair, each wrinkle
Don’t disturb the awe of this first meeting.
Please. Just watch.
By Samantha Norman
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