Thoughts from My Heart

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a poetry reading, and prepared this new poem for the occasion:

Teaching My Daughter How To Breathe

By Laura Nielson Baxter

As I now understand,

it’s not so much the steady rise and fall

we’ve come to see it as,

but rather, a fall and a rise.

This is what I am learning:

                              I

     Didn't our world begin with a Fall?

     Will it not end in precise risen glory?

                              II

     The moon doesn't wax and wane,

     she wanes and waxes, ending

     with glorious light before starting anew.

                              III

     A victorious overture, a fresh restoration.

                               IV

     As I hold you in the dark and marvel

     at your tiny fingers

     I find myself

     counting your breaths and repeating simply

     We: are alive.

     You: are alive.

     I: am alive.

                              V

     Deep in my chest, it feels right

     that life is our mother, who counts our breaths

     in the same way, taking note

     of our sometimes ragged exhales

     but knowing the majesty the next inhale brings.

                              VI

     She breathes along with us to calm our hearts.

     That's what mothers do.

                              VII

     God's miracle for us is breath.

     His love is our Fall and Rise.

This is what I pray to him:

Let my contribution be clean.

Let my breath ameliorate.

Let my life end on an inhale.

It can be tricky to include vulnerability in my poetry, but it was refreshing this time to open up and speak candidly from my heart. However, it still took a lot of effort. Do you have any tips or tricks about quickly tapping in to that vulnerable and sensitive side?