years ago you were in labor
maybe not yet
my birth was so easy
(as in ‘the last easy part of our relationship’)
there was just delivery
no L&D
just
me
there to continue to disappoint
ever after my painless entrance
worse, even, when my mind
was born
the pain denied at confinement
grew elsewhere
a thistle seeking little water or light
just a bristle spot
to be
protecting itself
hiding its flowers
filled cursive curses
forgive? no need
you never asked
though on I’ve moved
over and under
a hindered limp
from a small thorn
implanted
at birth