By Hayley Zemontas
Now, I’m part of the night.
A stitch in its fabric, a star in the sky.
Cradling my offspring tight.
Rather than missing my empty bed,
I’m savouring these moments instead.
Looking at you, drinking you in,
choosing the life of a Mother with twins.
Feeling alive, at one with the world,
even when I’m so tired it hurts.
The lack of rest pales compared to the worth,
the value of these precious, shared hours.
For I know that babyhood is quickly devoured.
Already, a whole month has passed,
proof that a lifetime can zoom in a flash!
You’re filling out, losing that newborn sheen,
becoming tiny people of whom I dreamed.
And, I’m becoming someone else too.
Still me, but with pieces entirely new.
Still adjusting and settling within this new skin;
a responsibility, too frighteningly real.
Adoration, a bond I’d always hoped to feel.
Connections slowly forged and sealed.
I would spend long, sleepless nights caressing the shapes of your
movements inside
as I stretched and grew to the size of the moon.
Our heartbeats enmeshed within a cocoon.
Now, I’m still awake at 3AM, staring in wonder at my babies again.
My body, still a crib to keep you safe.
But these days I’m studying every inch of your face,
features in miniature; such perfection I made.
The caterpillar curl of a hand wrapped around
one of my fingers, forever bound.
Like climbing roses, we are entwined.
By blood, by love and everlasting light.
I love you for all the days, and these crazy newborn nights.
Hayley Zemontas is a first-time mum to twin girls. She loves writing poetry and finds it very therapeutic. You can find her on her Facebook page.
