For My Mother

The first wound I received in life was grand:
a small hole remains from where all
was once given from you through a vital cord
which, once snipped slid slowly from my body, -
long gone now, but then meant to you Mine. Whole
you were with a ninth-month swell,
belly stretched taught and tight
filled with me. Stomach skin flattened,
naval protruding at the round height,
the special bulge remained until the agony
of hours granted you, me,
and I received that wound.
– My original loneliness, and yours.

Imitation of Kimberly Johnson’s Ode on My Belly Button