Mountain Midwife
(Orelena Hawkes Puckett (1837-1939) Groundhog Mtn: Floyd Co., VA)
Copyright © 2002, 2006
Jason Lester Atkins
985 Fleet Drive, #347
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
All Rights Reserved.
My little mule and I are moving as one
on our birthing journey through dark woods,
freeing ourselves of midnight forest shadows.
Now, that the early storm has slipped away,
mist whirls from the deep valley like a scarf
curling around the throat of the watching mountain,
leaving the whole night sky blooming with stars
as a welcoming bouquet for a newborn soul.
Soon after the whispering souls of these newborns
are welcomed out into my birthing room,
whispering where they came from before they forget,
I kneel beside the birthing bed watching two angels,
knowing one exhales joyful breath into new births
pushing aside an opposing angel who inhales.
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