christian ward

Before The Birth


Clouds dense as prose
pulled back the curtains
of a full moon unraveling
its bandages, exposing

the wounds from a million
year surgery. A prediction,
for the shock ahead, I thought.

I slept to the heart monitor's
lullaby, dreaming of softening
myself in the bathroom:
bruising cheeks, eyes; breaking
jawbones.

Running my fingers across
my face when I woke, I found
everything held together perfectly;

only discovering the glue
on my fingers when she gave birth
the following morning.

Christian Ward is a 28 year old London based writer. His poetry and translations have appeared in Elimae, The Kenyon Review and The Emerson Review. A chapbook, Bone Transmissions, was released in March from Maverick Duck Press.