For your part, it was no different from any other day:
careful inspection and clucks of approval.
And I, I feel
your pink heft in my aching arms,
feel your cheek, not languishing on my shoulder,
but bobbing against my own, and I know you are doing well,
scooting through the list of What to Expect.
The exam yielded no surprises for either of us
until the end, when four efficient needles
plunged one by one into oblivious flesh, and
I stared into your eyes dreading the end of that baby bliss.
I don’t know what you took from the experience
besides four round bandages,
bull’s-eyes set after the fact,
but I, I took the realization
that you now cry real tears.


the stats: weight 13#15oz., height 24 3/4 inches – both 95%