Mother, Wife, Daughter

a brief poem

Mother, Wife, Daughter

Bubbles of air
go drifting slowly up
with each mindless nod of
the Plastic diver's helmet,
released into the air above

Pieces of his mother's body
go drifting slowly down through
the salty, murky waters
—detritus to be devoured by
the dwellers on the seafloor

In the consulting room,
the doctor pushes and prods
his wife's supine body listening,
listening for the heartbeat
in the waters in her body

And in her water,
swims his daughter,
awakening now
to exultant new life,
awaiting birth into the air beyond