Promise

In the salmon of dawn,
when my heart burrowed tight,
small as a bird quivering
into the curve of its wing,
and the corridor was the expanse
of too many countries to name,
the two of you stood silent
as promise at the end.

And there, in that swamp, I walked on my own
through the weight of my body as nurses smiled pink,
clapping health to cheer me on.

And I knew myself as infant,
starting over,
again.