who's there?

gratitude and fresh air and flowers and salty tears

who's there?

the woosh
of the winds?

they still
feel like
love
to me

who’s there? 

i have no sense
of ownership
over these stories

i am a member
i am a witness
i am a memory
a forgotten memory

who’s there?

on your birthday,
do you celebrate 
joining the story?

do you celebrate your mother?
do you celebrate all of her mothers?
do you celebrate the midwives?
do you celebrate the episiotomy stitches?

do you celebrate all of the babies
born at the same time as you?
the ones who took their first breath 
before and after you?
the ones who took no first breath at all?

when you remember
who’s there?