Ever since my
second child was born, in 1978, I have been a doula, or a childbirth assistant...
I have assisted at over four-dozen births, including nine of my
eleven grandchildren. I delivered three of my four granddaughters myself,
because the labor was faster than the midwife. I wrote this poem in 2006 while
meditating on the cycle of birth, death, and reincarnation.
Thoughts
on the Births of Grandchildren
Expectant
mother dreams of child to be
Strong,
able, filled with fresh vitality.
Birth
is hard and when the child appears
His
cry brings great joy and chases fears.
Creamed
skin now sheds the water of birth
As
family and friends express great mirth
Rejoice
to see the daughter or son
But
what was lost, and what was won?
The
child has lost, we know, all he gained
In
former lives through struggle and pain
Knowledge
and skills and honor he won
What
do you have now, helpless grandson?
Confusion,
fear, and ignorance
We
know engulf him, surely, since
His
thoughts right now are just of milk
Forgot
he used to wear fine silk.
Forgot
he knew what numbers are times three,
Forgot
he knew all facts of history.
His
former family is barely a dream
Where
is the wealth that with effort he gleaned?
Again
will he work hard now to amass
Things
and knowledge that will surely pass?
Our
gifts to him are all impermanent
One
simply wonders, “What has it all meant?”
But
there is wealth that will always exist
Love
that with the body does not perish
A
family that goes from life to life
And
pleasure beyond the world of strife.
As
sounds then babble turn slowly to speech
As
you roll, crawl, walk, and jump and reach,
We’ll
show you the tools you’ll need to live
Again
what will be lost, child, we will give.
But
more than that, we’ll give you Krsna’s love
Then from pain and pleasure you will rise above
That
love of God, dear baby, is so sweet
You’ll
see as every day the Lord you’ll meet.
From
life to life, Krsna’s love you can carry
Until,
perfected, you will no longer tarry
Within
this world to take birth again
But
serve the Lord who’s your dearmost friend.
So,
child, now, the eternal—will you grasp?
Or
will you just get things that will not last?
The
greatest gift you’ll get from this grandmother—
Serve
Krsna—heart and soul—and serve no other.
Urmila Devi Dasi (Dr. Edith Best) has been practicing bhakti yoga since 1973 and travels the world teaching the science of the Bhagavad Gita and the practical application of bhakti to life. She has a PhD in education and has three decades of experience teaching primary and secondary students, which include 19 years of experience as a school administrator and leader. She has published Vaikuntha Children, a guidebook for devotional education, The Great Mantra for Mystic Meditation, dozens of articles, and Dr. Best Learn to Read, an 83 book complete literacy program with technology enabling the story books to speak in 25 languages at the touch of a special “pen”. Urmila and her husband, Pratyatosa, have three grown married children and eleven grandchildren. In 1996, Urmila and Pratyatosa entered the renounced order of life, or vanaprastha, in Sanskrit. You may connect with her through her website here, or subscribe to her on
~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~
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