December 08

New beginnings

Aching for the woman I used to know.
Her laugh was hearty,
her body fit,
her time her own.
My time now measured,
the air thick with responsibility.
How can she be found in this world of restriction?

Reprieve.

Inhale again the sweet taste
of freedom.
We meet again, a heady reunion.
Passion felt for adventure,
philosophy,
the outside world.
Returning: will the undertow prove too powerful?

Determined and tempered she emerges,
changed,
but not diluted.
Reconnected with the selves of the past:
some need space to grow,
some need to be let go.

But losses not the focus anymore.
A new beginning – a definition of self.
She has now the lioness’s pride,
and a home
for her heart.

I am now a mother.
Some things I have lost,
but much
I have gained.

 

© Felicity Chapman

“Beauty is my child’s face.”*

Is there a more perfect sight than the face of a beloved child? Is there a more perfect feeling than stroking the softness of their skin? Is there a more perfect smell than inhaling their sweet scent as you envelope them in a tight embrace? These are some of the intoxicating wonders of motherhood. How I love to dwell on my child’s exquisite features, but no matter how long or how intently I gaze, the image is always changing. It is the nature of childhood.

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* © from 'Being Mummy' by Anne‑marie Taplin, published April 2007