Your life until now

Has been all warmth and shadow,

As you float to the music

of distant muffled voices, and dance

to the rhythms of heart and breath.

You know nothing but the comfort

Of this perfect blanket of dark.

This cocoon of water and flesh

Is the only world you have known,

And it has been entirely beautiful.

When your world cracks open,

It will feel immense and terrifying.

All will seem too loud, too bright,

Too much to be grasped.

This life as you know it now

Will be over in an instant

As you slip from the only

place you have ever known,

Haunted by the terrible truth

already inscribed on your bones:

you will never be able to return here

to the ground of your making.

But, my darling, there is so much

Beauty on the other side:

Wonder upon wonder

You could never have dreamed of.

There is touch, light, sound,

Color, creativity, texture, hope,

And love, love, glorious love.

I wish I could tell you it will be easy,

That you will be safe as you

Step into the wide terrain of this world;

But there are too many sharp edges

And, tender as we are,

No one walks through unscathed.

What I can promise is you won’t face

This looming future alone.

Arms are waiting to hold you.

Lips are longing to greet you with a kiss.

Eyes are yearning to behold you.

Hearts are flung wide open

Ready to adore you.

I suppose what I want to say is this:

It’s okay to be scared,

It’s okay to cry out in

Surprise and doubt and even terror.

Weep a thousand tears if you must,

As you face the unfamiliar landscape

Of a future you never would have chosen;

And grieve the great loss of what

You must leave behind.

But come anyway.

For your one wild, wondrous life

Is waiting for you;

And you are the only one capable of living it.

You already have all you need.

So even when you feel small

Be brave.

When you feel ready to turn back

Look ahead.

When you think all is lost

Trust the miracle of the next moment

And the next as they keep

tumbling toward you.

Greet them as the unwarranted

miracles that they are.

You were made for the adventure

Of all that is to come.

You were made for this world

As stunning and frightening

And sharp-edged as it is.

Oh My Love,

You were made

to be born.