Doula

Deep speaks to deep. Womb 
greets womb & blessed 
are you who wriggled & writhed, 
who left behind the warmth 
of the uterus & crawled through mucus 
& blood. Blessed are you who fell 
into the steady hands 
of an aunt or an overworked 
nurse, an exhausted father or a giddy 
bisabuela, bone-tired 
from acclamation 
& hymn—& to all of them— 
to each of our forebears 
who prayed us into being, 
who sang

O Come, O Come