On the Day You Were Born Lyrics

On the day you were born

She

Reclined on soaked bed

Air in air out

Breathe breathe

Hoo hoo

Ha

Hoo hoo

Ha

Lamaze-trained lungs bunched up like dirty socks

On the top of your underwater cocoon

He: repeating, Keep it up, honey. You're doing great. Keep it up

Sweat drops pounding down his neck

"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod" thoughts running marathons

Shut up!

You're the one who did this to me!

She burns inside and

He blows outside

Your home shriveled sack of saran wrap

Folds down on you

Like a collapsing tent

Your hands push like poles

Trying to preserve your temporary shelter

I feel it moving

Push, honey. Push

Your safety harness tied securely and

You're ready to repel

But

You wait

Doctor: Now you have to push harder

I'm pushing as hard as I fucking can!

Give me some drugs! I need drugs!

Inject long spike full of peanut butter fuzzies

Up the back

Down the spine

In the legs

Push!

Good warmth comes in your belly and

Fills you with wooly cotton

You sit from light headedness

You're ready to sleep

No!

You're ready to slide

Down

Down

Down

The slippery slope of the narrow cave

It massages you with pink strokes

You giggle a mouthful of fluid

Gliding

Down

Down

Down

Towards the soft yellow

Squint

Scream

Shake out of

Blood and water and life

On the day you were born

The morning sun awoke and smiled on the world

Mother Earth turned a pirouette and danced among the solar

Gravity found you and held you close

The world rose to greet you on your birth day

Flowers of purple, violet, green open their faces to greet you

The Arctic-frozen terns

Bumpy humpback whales

Pacific-flavored salmon

Multitudinous monarch butterflies

Busy garden warblers

Grassy-colored turtles

All congregated and voiced the news of your birth

The white eye of the moon traveled forward to witness your first night

The stars winked a million hellos

The oceans and seas and lakes and rivers all flowed forth and back, forth and back to wave greetings and washed beaches clean for your footprints

Tiny droplets of condensation vanished forming white and gray clouds to rain drops of newness over your new home

The wind blew soft kisses over the Earth to catch you on the cheek

People wrote songs

Played music

Performed death defying acts

Won lotteries

Cried

Screamed

Made love

Read words of beauty

Composed poetry

Birthed

Died

Hugged their children

Held hands

Whispered good morning

Said good night and

Thanked God

On the day you were born

I was a child

Full of happy thoughts of the moment

Calloused not by unfulfilled hopes of the future

Regretting nothing for I had no past

I was a child

Playing outside under warm sun on the front lawn with friends

Catch! Throw it to me! Tag! Freeze! Hurry someone go under my legs! Hurry! Hurry! Unfreeze me!

I was a child

Eating peanut butter and jelly and butter sandwiches cut into fours with the crust cut off

Watching The Wizard of Oz and

Singing Follow follow follow follow follow the yellow brick road

I don't understand where to but I'll follow

I was a child

Sitting with the babysitter

Reading The Littlest Angel

With feet barely hanging over the sofa made of gray tweed

Laughing high and loud

I was a child

Sleeping on mommy's bed

No lights on

Thick black covering everything

I laid awake and thought

Someday I too will be old like mommy and daddy

And have to go to work

And have little boys like me

I hope I'll have someone to play with and who will be my friend

I hope I'll find someone who loves me as much as mommy and daddy

I hope when I'm a daddy I'll find a good mommy to love the little boys like me

I was a child

And I hoped

On the day you were born