She went into labour near nine o’clock –
no harder than the others.
She said “if it’s not here by two am
I’m going round to me mothers.”
Then, bang on two am
there came into the world, a daughter.
The mother slept throughout the night
while father wondered what they ought to do.
The carry cot was waiting there
to take the girl away,
to somewhere new
where there’d be only boys
with whom to play.
And a tiny scrap of humanity lay.
She’d had to fight
before she ever saw
the light of day.
Now she was sleeping
her struggle
into the world away.
Not knowing that her future life
lay right on the edge
of a sharpened knife.
