Mother and Child

                        Across the boundaries of

arching time,

mothers have enshrouded their infants

with selfless love.

 

From first beginnings

descended from the ancient trees

forest primeval,

thrust into a world

mysterious and unforgiving

perilous rain storms

stalking resplendent earth

ice-bound cold

covering everything with

savage snowfall

descending.

 

Mothers seeking refuge

their infants clinging

breasts engorged

creating safe places

among the chaos.

 

Through the eons

civilizations taking shape

in the wilderness,

empires born

empires in the midst of

fiery dissolution

mothers prevail

giving birth

without fanfare

without justification

throughout the fitful generations

building the human kind

from bits of matter

into a human presence

across the boundaries of

arching time.