1001 Baby's First Day Out! Poem by John Knight

I remember the day I was born
Coming from water to air - breathing
A lovely feeling in my brave new lungs!
Air providing the oxygen for......
All my metabolic processes
Enabling me to live independently!

Independent of my Mother who carried me
Willingly inside her own womb
For nine months because - she was my mother!
Now I was free the umbiliacal chord
Had been cut and my bottom had been slapped
My sex had been checked - YES HE IS A BOY!

In my own mind this was it - FREEDOM
A free independent human being
Free to chose - free to wander - anywhere.
I opened my eyes slowly and saw...........
For the first time - the world around me.
It was very bright and very white!

My world inside the womb was so dark
So warm - so fluid - so comforting
I felt safe there inside my Mummy
Muffled sight - muffled sound - no danger
Carried everywhere - handled with care
Loved from the moment of conception.

But now I was out - in my new world.
The walls were white - the sheets were white
My gown was white and my gloves and hat
All dressed up and nowhere to go!
Have they got no imagination
Have they never seen a rainbow?

Red - Orange - Yellow - Green - Blue - Violet
But I was in a monochrome maternity ward.
White robed nurses and white robed mothers
Carefully tending white robed babies.
Then my Father arrived - in Technicolour!
Well grey suit - blue shirt and a red tie.

A thought struck me - as he contemplated me
His new son - do only men wear colours?
Do all ladies only dress in white?
The concept was soon dispelled by the..........
Arrival of my eleven Aunties
You never saw such a display!

All the colours of the rainbow - and browns
And greys and black in stripes and patterns.
Such a facinating world to see
And smell - a differnt scent as each one
Bent to kiss me - and their different sounds,
Loud - soft - male and female - posh and Scouse.

And they all felt different - hands and clothes
Some smooth - some coarse - some gentle - some rough.
And what about taste - they all wanted to kiss me.
Some sweet - some sour - some minty and some smokey.
What senses we humans have - Sight - touch
And hearing - taste - speech and comprehension!

This was just day one - so so much to learn
Three o'clock and time for visitors to go.
Time for Mummy Milk so sweet and so warm.
Taste and texture - cooing and cuddling.
Soothing words - beautiful boy - lovely baby.
I could have said 'That was nice Mummy'
And 'Thank you Mummy' but I did not want
To appear preciotous - so i just said 'coo instead.

(John Knight - Colchester - December 2009)