Friday, July 4, 2014

Growth--By Cristine A. Gruber--United States

Growth

For Victoria

Your hand rests
upon your belly, protective,
a shielding gesture all mothers recognize.

Shaking your head
at the offered beverage,
you turn instead to a bottle of water.

Moving slowly among the crowd,
you glide with care and grace, serene,
no fear of jostling the precious cargo you carry.

Smile unending,
your peace and joy are tangible
as you move from one guest to the next,

thinking you have kept your secret safe,
presuming no one knows the truth
that has yet to be spoken aloud,

but with each brush of your hand
across your midsection,
I see your smile grow.

One can only assume,
in another seven months or so,
you’ll be grinning from ear to ear.

* First published in Coffee-Ground Breakfast / March 2014

Cristine A. Gruber, a Southern California native, is a registered caregiver and a devout vegan. Her poetry reflects her view of the human condition in all its complexity and beauty. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines, including: North American Review, Writer’s Digest, Writers’ Journal, Foliate Oak, Full of Crow, Leaves of Ink, The Old Red Kimono, The Penwood Review, Poetry Now, The Poet’s Haven, and The Tule Review. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Lifeline, was released by Infinity Publishing and is available from Amazon.com.

8 comments:

  1. Christine, your beautiful poem and words paint a very holy image at this blessed expectation! If I could rate it you would get "exquisite" from me! What a joy to read this here on this wonderful Whispers on-line journal! Sheri / www.poetryandbeyond.net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sheri, you are too kind! Thank you so much. I am really pleased you enjoyed this poem.

      Hope you had a wonderful weekend. :)


      Cristine ~

      Delete
  2. Awaiting the treasure with great measure!
    A newborn blessing in the womb...
    A new love soon you can treasure
    In seven months or so happens very soon!
    Brightest Blessings to you and yours!
    ~Dena

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lovely, Dena! Positively lovely. Thank you so much. I'm so pleased you enjoyed my poem. :)


      Cristine ~

      Delete
  3. Dear Christine,

    A touching poem for Victoria and a lovely read. Thank you for sharing your poem with us.

    Sandra

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sandra. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. :)


      Cristine ~

      Delete
  4. Hi Cristine. It is good to see your work here at Whispers again. I love "Growth." It is a creative, passionate and loving story of one of the greatest miracles we, as humans, have the pleasure of being a part of: creating life. Thank you for sharing and continued blessing to you!

    -MJ (www.tgbtgpublictions.com)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good evening, Maurice.

      Thank you so much. It's so good to see you here, as well as on FB. You have a truly lovely family. :)

      I'm so pleased you enjoyed this poem. It meant a great deal to write it for the young woman it's dedicated to. I'm very pleased it has been so well received. Thank you. :)

      Continued blessings to you and yours, always.


      Cristine ~

      Delete