FOR KYRA AND JOHN AND...

Remember
how she said she wanted...
a baby...
or did she say a child...
someone to hold
the way she held dolls
when she was herself a child....

And now she is ballooning
with a six-month pregnancy...
twins, one of each,
a boy and a girl...
which leaves me wondering
what she will do
when they both cry at once...

And then I know
the appropriate answer
is that the father takes one
and cradles it
in the crook of his arm...
or lays it on his shoulder
and pats gently until sleep comes...

Anyone knows
who has watched baby birds
stretch up and up... mouths wide open
when the mother comes back
and perches on the side of the nest
with a worm or beetle squirming...
she bears the greater weight of parenthood...

He knows his part
is mostly to wait and watch
and come alongside with strength
when what she has to offer
is almost enough
but not quite...
That is what after all love is...

--Jerral Miles