The Birth
Written & Contributed By
L. K. Miller

I have sat long vigil through the night,
Expectantly watching the mare pace.
At last she labors, her miracle unfolds.
And as the foal is born our hearts are filled with joy.
I receive him into my open arms and hold his little head,
Astounded by the power of new life to move us.
He struggles and then stands to take in a whole world.
Life and strength fills him.

I have sat in a stall beside my old friend,
Wetting her mane with my tears
And casting my prayers on high.
I stay with her as the hours tick by
On an unwitting death watch--or perhaps partly known,
But the heart will not see. Hope insulates it from the truth.
As the day ends, she struggles and goes down.
And our hearts now brim with sorrow and break.
I kneel at her side, hold her head in my arms,
Amazed at the power of death to tear us,
As her life in this world ebbs,

And a new day begins.
I must open my arms now to what I cannot see:
The life now gone from me, the soul I miss
Is brought through darkness into an eternal place
To try her new legs, to take in a whole world.