birth

the birth canal
is hard and narrow
but i am a soft egg
i am expelled
wet and flailing

air rasps my skin
and my throat
and inside me
i wail it out
but it comes
rushing back

it is my own voice
that shocks me most

i sleep
as still
as water
and wake
alone

the dull air
is full of sound
that is not
her
heartbeat

Belinda Broughton is a visual artist and poet living in the Adelaide Hills. She exhibits herself here and there and publishes her poems by scrawling them on the back of her hand.