Shadow Baby

I know
that you are pregnant
I knew it
the moment it happened
I heard you humming
sensed your feet
become heavier
felt your breath
on my shoulder

shadow, what will your baby
look like?
will she have hair?
will she have my eyes
or yours?
will she look like me?

I always thought of shadows
as being cold
but how can they
when they exist
only through sunlight?

shadow, what will you teach
your baby?
will you teach her loyalty
love
how to hum with the wind?

that’s how
you will speak to her
isn’t it, shadow?
through hums and clicks
her tiny, leaf-like fingers
wrapped around
your wrist
when you hold her
for the first time

shadow, please tell me
when she is born
I know she is a girl
because I can feel it
in my bones
my blood
the skin on my back

and shadow, when she does arrive
on a sunny day
after a string of cloudy ones
when she does arrive
will you let me hold her?
I only wish to sleep
inside her eyes
once
and to smell her scent
of soil
and light

Still have a lot of tweaking to do with this. Let me know what you think.