Begin, and cease, and then again begin.

   ~ Matthew Arnold, ‘Dover Beach’

Again, death rolled towards

my daughter and me. Again

its grim, slow prowl and sudden

bulk. Again, human misery

veered from its lane.

Quiet violence, again

we met eyes steadily

moribund, lowered

with a desperate hunch

for infinity, for one clear moment.

Then my foot’s dissent, hard

no, strong as a womb’s

push, as though again

I gave her birth, told her: Go out

and she replied: I am

I am. She rolled forward

into life, again, fast,

folded, eyes open, and somewhere,

midwives laughed

in the face of death, again.

Note: ‘human misery’ is a phrase from Matthew Arnold’s poem.