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	poems

Birthing Brings Me

Birthing brings me
to a continent's ledge
dissolved above and below
food for the moon's blistering tongue
Birthing brings fear's tight-fisted heart
deep breathing to beat easy
When I break open, they said
gore and ocean pour from the guts
And will the salt spray sting?
Will pelicans lift throats full of fish?
Will I laugh
when beyond the water's howl
bird's click and caw
twisting in the juicy cave
a throat constricts to sing
with birthing screeches
And will I sing?

By Susan Suntree