I woke with a startle
Panicked by the short and shallow breaths I was hearing
Was it happening?Had the day I'd feared most arrived?
Her body once petite
Now a vessel
carrying something far more precious than you or I

A moment barely passed before she tapped my shoulder
and like clockwork I scrambled for a pen and pad
recording the times
Frantic by the results we drove quickly
almost missing stop signs

The labor was a success
but she was not considered blessed
For the true labor pains were soon to come

We had three days of bliss
and as if that baby boy never exists
he was torn away and
dismissed from her aching arms
and placed into a life much simplier for him
A tale for an adoptive Mother and Father