THE EIGHTH MONTH

By John Grey

PROMPT — Joy is ...

He is bumping. She is kicking.

He/she is going for a spin.

The miracles keep on coming.

The fascination does not wane.

You’re already in love

with someone you have never seen,

only felt.

You carry on a conversation

with your expanded stomach.

You’re concerned for the child’s comfort.

The response is all wiggles, no words.

It’s a weird time for your body

but you’re grateful that, so far,

your insides have found a way to cope.

The process moves inexorably toward birth.

In the meantime,

she will stretch you to your limit.

He will do all he can to resist your pushing.

There’s pain but you indulge in it.

And such an awkwardness,

but a grandeur to waddling duck-like.

He/she demands your kindness and your mutability.

You find a way to be both gentle and strong.

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John Grey is an Australian poet and US resident. His work was recently published in New World Writing, River And South, and The Alembic. John's latest books are Subject Matters, Between Two Fires and Covert. He has writing upcoming in Paterson Literary Review, White Wall Review, and Cantos. John writes from Lincoln, RI.