Friend

You sat and waited

and in that pregnant pause

a space of expectancy

was formed an energetic nest

assembled from twigs and reeds

of your attention lovingly gathered

painstakingly held

together with a soft clay

of patient listening

and you waited

as I struggled

through a series

of confessional

contractions

no sound yet emerging

only desire permeated the air

it’s time I thought

here it comes

and, as in the hours

before birth,

a low level of dread

hovered around the edges

of a sacred hopefulness

and you knew exactly

how to fashion

a perfectly safe place

for my egg to land.