On witnessing a birth

How you
came out
squinting
as if from too
much light, or
the roller coaster
that is
evolution. Still
too many shadows
remain on
that cave where
you soak like
a vowel in a
long bath.
How you came from
between the legs of
your ancestors
too large to
betray space
your eyes wide
open where
the ocean hugs
your lips.


by jayne lyn stahl