Untitled Birth Poem

—

Take you away? Never.
Holding you, bare skinned,
while you licked your lips,

I would break eye contact with you
only long enough to laugh defiantly
at anyone who would tell me

a needle would serve you better
than my kisses -

or that you would be left wanting
at the holy chalice of my
heartbeat-threaded breast.

So small, and yet,

you can turn
your mother’s laugh
into a spear.

Erinn Streeter

Erinn is open to suggestions for a title in the comments!

This is a part of the birth poetry contest.