Lino print and birthday poem for Em

On this night
this held breath
this moment between what was
and what will be –

You are the tiny person
naked, smiling, bathing, receiving.

And you are the hand,
the big, soft, gently-cupped hand that holds you
that holds us, everyone here,
holding the universe tenderly
without judgement or expectation.

You are the infinite blackness of the night sky, you are a place to lose yourself, over and over in the endless mystery of self and unity
And you are the infinite burning light of every star, over and over, guiding yourself home.

You are the full moon, tonight’s full moon in light and calming Libra,
balanced: Everything
…and everything else. Everything ever has brought you to this moment, this threshold.
And you are every full moon,
light and breath and spaciousness
An in-breath.
A pause.
A high-point
before descent.

And you are the dark moon, veiled, hidden,
full of unfathomable secrets.
The secrets of only you
the secrets of everything we share
the secrets of universes and old souls and ancestors and every blade of grass.
Shadows yet to come forth
shadows that never will.
A full exhale, empty and waiting
A silent cauldron of potential.

And you are the new moon. Your own new moon in Aries, the beginner, the fire starter.
The first moment, the first sliver of you,
A tease, a glimpse, a late bloom.
An idea of what you might become.
You are all of this power, naive and unweighted
Bravely revealing your new self, unashamed, undecided,
This next iteration of your life.

On this night
a decade ends. A new one begins.
Breathe in –
Hold –
Breathe out.

On this night, you are the tiny person
the cupped hand
And every moon.