Wednesday, February 3, 2010

A Bowl of Warm Air

Someone is falling towards you
as an apple falls from a branch,
moving slowly, imperceptibly as if
into a new political epoch,
or excitedly like a dog towards a bone.
He is holding in both hands
everything he knows he has—
a bowl of warm air.

He has sighted you from afar
as if you were a dramatic crooked tree
on the horizon and he has seen you close up
like the underside of a mushroom.
but he cannot open you like a newspaper
or put you down like a newspaper.

And you are satisfied that he is veering towards you
and that he is adjusting his speed
and that the sun and the wind and rain are in front of him
and the sun and the wind and rain are behind him.

–Moniza Alvi

I read this poem yesterday while sitting in a waiting room next to Ben, who was reading the third book in the Fablehaven series. It was the poem for February 2nd in one of my daily poetry anthologies.

I flipped through the book picking out a poem here and there. It can be hard to concentrate in waiting rooms. Then I got to this poem.

Reading it was like receiving a small premonition of the future.

A few minutes later we were ushered in to the ultrasound room by the technician where it was pronounced that who we were expecting was a perfect baby boy. Someone falling towards me. I am holding out my arms to catch him as the warm season filters in, the beginning of Summer, a bowl of warm air.

11 comments:

  1. Congrats to you!! Someone is falling towards you and at the same time he's right there already! What a lovely, perfect poem for an announcement like this.

    [p.s. I tried to commend on this earlier but, for some reason, blogger wasn't letting me comment on this in my usual browser (chrome) so I had to use safari instead. Weird.]

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  2. OH OH OH! LOVELY!
    You are going to LOVE having a baby boy. Baby boys are the sweetest things EVER. LUCKY! Congratulations!

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  3. Congratulations! I hadn't heard the news. I am so thrilled for you!

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  4. Thanks, everyone.

    Annie ~ isn't it a fabulous poem? I love it.

    Beck ~ I do have one little boy already (in a sea of three sisters) and boys are the greatest.

    Kristin ~ You hadn't heard because we hadn't told anyone until very recently. But at a certain point pregnancy simply becomes obvious!

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  5. I love the poem! Thank you so much. And wonderful congratulations to you!

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  6. Congratulations! What a wonderful thing expecting a baby is.

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  7. Congratulations! I have enjoyed reading your blog...so happy for you.

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  8. What a beautiful poem to announce your fabulous news! Congrats on the soon to be little one!

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  9. His Nana can hardly wait!

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  10. Gorgeous poem, what a way to usher in a new life within. A warm hug, bowl of warm air & congrats to you!

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