Second Born

The difference is hard to explain. On the surface
  it's a matter of experience.
  We've been initiated, made the passage
  We're permitted the practised nonchalance of insiders.
  We'll not get carried away - after all
       it's not the first time.

So there's less fanfare, less fuss.
  No reckless abandon in the stuffed animal store
  No cute tee-shirt proclaiming the obvious
  No disinfecting door handles, and
Yes, we would like to know the sex.

Yet the indifference is strained and less is more
This time the fears are rational. Will there be
  enough money,
  enough time,
  enough insight?
How will we bear the gift?

What experience has taught is sure:
  We probably will be adequate in the little things.
No one is ever adequate in the larger things.
Our bellies tremble with the risk,
  stretch to the mystery,
  crave the taste of our own inadequacy,
  possessed by apprehension
And dependency begetting dependency,
  Grace is born.

© 1996, Sanford C. Shugart

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