Birth/Rebirth (artwork) / Ruby Henry

Birth/Rebirth After “Birth/Rebirth” Ruby Henry

half-born, until the next, final contraction. The midwife caught him and laid him on the bed between my legs. I had pictured this moment for nine months. Seeing his face, touching his skin. I knew I was supposed to pull him up to my naked chest, victorious and exhausted, breathing together. Instead, I kept my shirt on and stared at his naked, blue body, afraid to touch him. He was so small, so real, so neutral. So separate. I grazed his cheek with my finger, in awe. He had grown from a cell to a human in 9 months. I had gone from pregnant to unpregnant in the span of 7 hours. Here he was, a piece of my own flawed and sinful self, unattached. A miracle.