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a pregnant woman touches her belly, a dog lies sleeping at her feet
I haven’t told you
in your impatience
to birth this baby girl
already
that the moment she is out
you will cleave her back to you
with each emergence
you will know a tidal surge
part marvel part mystery
blended yet with something else
as she travels
bit by bit beyond your orbit
you will watch
how the world
opens to her
takes her by the hand
down pathways
just for her
from this day forward
you will straddle
a border
of symbiosis
and severance
a dual citizen evermore
of both lands
offering her
your whole being
while stepping
out of her way
as she follows longings
whose existence
she has not yet
breathed her being into
and if you are very lucky
she will find a way
to let you
grasp her hand glimpse her dream
even across the distance of
the earth’s wide oceans.
I did not have to tell you this
it is the language
you taught me
even before
you could speak.     

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