A Birth
John
Lavan is a poet living in the north of England who has been creating
poetry for the last five years, with some success in competitions and
in publishing. His poems are inspired by people and events in life, not
by any fanciful flights. He believes that every person has a unique,
tender soft spot at the center of their humanity and it is the poet's
mission to reach that place inside oneself and then express from that
place in sound and words. No mean task! Only then can a poet touch the
soft spot in the reader, and that is when a true connection occurs.
Explore more of his work at his blog, poemsfromreality. This poem is about the birth of a magical son. And this is a magical poem!
A Birth
By John Lavan
I'm painting windows
listening to noise outside;
teenagers shouting above an autumn wind.
Normal teenage girls, I guess.
Normal?
Back to Andrew's birth and a room
—sky blue and white—high on a hill
in Yorkshire. For 40 minutes in a life
he seemed normal. Then
they said I should hold him
and so I did
as any firstborn father cradles—clumsily—
and he transformed:
"Down Syndrome probably," they said.
Shock. Grievous. Tears soaked
through family. Loss
of expectation flowed.
We couldn't see! Embarrassing now, unaware,
as I clumsily drip paint onto cold pink hands,
that a teacher had been born.
A Birth
By John Lavan
I'm painting windows
listening to noise outside;
teenagers shouting above an autumn wind.
Normal teenage girls, I guess.
Normal?
Back to Andrew's birth and a room
—sky blue and white—high on a hill
in Yorkshire. For 40 minutes in a life
he seemed normal. Then
they said I should hold him
and so I did
as any firstborn father cradles—clumsily—
and he transformed:
"Down Syndrome probably," they said.
Shock. Grievous. Tears soaked
through family. Loss
of expectation flowed.
We couldn't see! Embarrassing now, unaware,
as I clumsily drip paint onto cold pink hands,
that a teacher had been born.
Posted by Annmarie at 8/10/2009 10:45 PM 
Categories: Observation, today's words
Tags: John Lavan birth Down syndrome
Categories: Observation, today's words
Tags: John Lavan birth Down syndrome
John, being the grandmother of an autistic child, I totally empathize. Without him in our lives, I would be an incomplete human being. He has taught me more than I could ever begin to repay. And done it with love.
Sharon
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