As we sat together,

You in labour, moving space

Towards the moment that you’d be no longer just you, but two.

More than the sum of your parts;

Blown apart by birth.

I could feel your baby joining us;

Gathering her strength from yours.

The energy was building;

Making space that would be hers.

You held the strength of each contraction.

The room was steady,

Charged,

And yours.

Ruth Pay, March 2019