Let's back up to Spring of 1968, so
You can see how much I love being pregnant!
The fact is I'm so enthralled with
This state of wonderment that
You'd think no woman had ever
Been 'with child' before me ...
Suggesting that previous to Barry's birth
People had hatched, like chickens, from eggs!
As this miraculous state of wonderment offers
Me no morning sickness, whatsoever
My natural exuberance
(Which comes as no surprise!)
Seems to sprout a pair of wings, which
Slide so freely through two perfectly aligned slits in
My Super Mom cape that I can be seen
Floating above the ground as though
Drugged in a hyper-energized, 24/7 dopamined state with
This exception: I'm still teaching fifth grade, and at exactly
One PM, each day, my kids are given
A busy-work assignment, which frees my sudden
Drop in ebullience to collapse on the cot in
The nurse's office, where
I fall into a deep sleep for half an hour before
Awakening, fully-pumped with that re-energized
Dopamine reaction, which carries me
Happily through the rest of the day ...
And much to my joy, I find that
One person's release of a dopamine high is
As contagious as catching a cold, because
Each time my spirit feels so tickled as to
Sneeze out a sparkling smile, complete strangers
Can't help but answer my delight with one of their own!
With the advancement of my pregnancy, the school year winds down
And as is true with everyone who wins my love
My heart aches with loss when summer's approach offers
Me reason to separate from a classroom, bouncing with
The natural exuberance of children, who
Have been 'my kids' for the past nine months, coincidentally
The length of a pregnancy ... And while my mind is currently
Engaged in reminiscing over yesteryear
You'd be right to believe that
My heart longs to know whether life offered each of
'My twenty-five kids' the same tender affection that
We'd felt for each other more than four decades ago ...
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