I screamed in agony as you emerged into light From the lake of my womb And you screamed with me, Silently, Suffocating from the umbilical cord Wrapped tight around your throat By which I once brought you oxygen And now deprived you of it.

I watched as your purple fingers Gripped the coil that bound us To tear it lose, Desperate to live, And be your own.

Once you were a boy and I was your mother. Now you are a man and I am...