A CHILD’S FIRST BREATH

First breath is

a butterfly

alighting on

whoever upraises him

from doctor

to nurse

before it finally

comes to rest on a mother’s lips.

First breath is

inhaled,

exhaled,

shared in the moment,

as wings hold steady,

all flight is deferred.

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in New World Writing, North Dakota Quarterly and Tenth Muse. Latest books, ”Between Two Fires”, “Covert” and  “Memory Outside The Head” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal, Birmingham Arts Journal, La Presa and Shot Glass Journal.