Not sure when you knew this was your calling
To answer fate’s pull toward teeny, neonatal screams
Ushering them onto this beautiful wild ride that is Planet Earth
A world where breath is first exchanged with a gorgeous gasp
Where the warmth of their Mother’s wondrous womb wrapping them up
Tightly shielding them from the brunt that is birth, is soon yesteryear
Yes, that safe haven where Mama’s heartbeat soulfully soothes
Where flowering fetuses revel in this rhythm that is their first best friend
A force they’ll soon be rocking with against a cherished chest
This nine-month residence will soon be vacant upon the victory of birth
Until then, it is you, dear doctor, a valiant vessel of deliverance
That navigates a mother through this courageous crossroad
The miraculous forty week period of growing a human being
Oh, it is you, who spreads joy through medical contraptions
Divine devices that so delicately detect a tiny treasure of a heartbeat
I surely pray that you never grow tired of witnessing this wonder
Then, as you measure growing abdomens that stretch to the heavens
You somehow assure each “lady in waiting” that they are emanating
We depart the exam room certain our glow can be seen from space!
And then … Fate faithfully knocks on the door of one maternal womb
As divine dilation and eager effacing prepare a brave birth canal
Where the closest thing to holy water pours down into the world
And a soulful wave of beauty and agony crashes on west shores
A baby is here. And God has chosen your hands for the landing.
Stephanie R. Bryant is a Coast Guard spouse stationed on Martha’s Vineyard, 2009–11. Some may say they’ve left their heart in the City by the Bay, but hers is surely on the Vineyard.