Earthside
The earth guards its layers
like four unrevealed mysteries,
untouched, uncharted, never fully known
by humankind. Its inner core continues to be a burning
mystery, underneath miles of stone, protected from harm
and destruction. Encapsulated by its own type of tenderness.
No wonder we call it Mother Earth.
Under seven layers of my own body,
another world was revealed. A hidden land
of skin, blood, and bone, explored cautiously
like sacred ground. My womb was cut open
in search of the rarest jewel, made not from gold or diamond,
but life itself. An excavation of a new version of me,
turned into equal parts of birth and becoming.
Seven has always been my lucky number. I arrived
on the seventh of June, straight into a world
wrapped in a blanket of love,
my cry as loud as the first crack of thunder,
a core memory according to my own mother.
My Cae came on the fourth of September,
after hours of waiting, feet first,
an inexistent first cry. Only the sterile-sounding hum
of the operating room and the sudden uncertainty of the air.
The quiet rush of earthside angels echoing at a distance,
hands working their magic to keep your small body
safe and here, with me.
Our first rendezvous, my eyes finding yours
opening slowly and wide as the first ray
of sunshine in a summer morning, I remember them
round, sweet, and lively like jaboticabas.
In our first connection, you told me a secret
without words that only mothers and babies
seem to know:
You were born, my love,
and in a way, so was I.
About the Author
Thaina (she/her) is a Brazilian-American mama, poet, and educator based in Maryland. Nominated for Best of the Net by Sledgehammer Lit, her poetry has also been featured in Olney Magazine, Lumiere Review, South Africa New Contrast, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, and elsewhere. She hopes her work will empower, connect the human experience, and evoke new perspectives. Find her on IG: @thainawrites
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