This was baby shower…

This was baby shower weekend; I hosted two showers this weekend. Much cooking, much fun, very tired now and seriously behind on other work. Must work frantically today to catch up, so it'll be a while before I can put up the photos. So in the interim, here's the poem I found for Nilofer's little girl. Nilofer is a professional activist, if I haven't mentioned that before. This poem wouldn't work for everyone's baby, but it's perfect for her, and hers. It also makes me choke up, which surprised me:

On the Birth of a Child

LO, to the battle-ground of Life,
Child, you have come, like a conquering shout,
Out of a struggleinto strife;
Out of a darknessinto doubt.

Girt with the fragile armor of youth,
Child, you must ride into endless wars,
With the sword of protest, the buckler of truth,
And a banner of love to sweep the stars.

About you the world's despair will surge;
Into defeat you must plunge and grope.
Be to the faltering an urge;
Be to the hopeless years a hope!

Be to the darkened world a flame;
Be to its unconcern a blow
For out of its pain and tumult you came,
And into its tumult and pain you go.

-- Louis Untermeyer. 1885

1 thought on “This was baby shower…”

  1. Wow, what a great poem!

    Here’s one of my other favorite bits along those lines.

    Cradlesong
    Sing a cradle-song now, as the light fades around us
    And you breathe like the ocean, lying small in my arms
    See it all in a moment – you so young and unclouded
    Shining bright as a lion – feel the motion of time
    As the world rolls away from the sun.
    I can feel your life burning – unlived moments within you
    Further than I can see…

    May the fire be your friend and the sea rock you gently,
    May the moon light your way – till the wind sets you free

    I remember your face as you cried for the first time
    The cold air of the world and the fierce light of day
    And the cruel separation in a world washed with tears;
    Numbed with pain to unfeeling – May you hold to your truth
    As you walk the dark night of unreason
    The stone walls which surround us – may your spirit fly round them
    Like the wind from the sea…

    May the fire be your friend and the sea rock you gently,
    May the moon light your way – till the wind sets you free

    May you never know hunger: may you love with a full heart –
    The light stay in your eyes…

    May the fire be your friend and the sea rock you gently,
    May the moon light your way – till the wind sets you free
    May the fire be your friend and the sea rock you gently,
    May the moon light your way – till the wind sets you free

    –Barry Andrews, 1986

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