I’ve been falling in love
with my bellybutton
as it slowly pops out, being
pushed out into the world along
with this someday soon task-
motherhood.

Thicker ribcage where he’s pushed
my organs
up and out of his way as he grows and
for once, my body doesn’t struggle
in fact,
it turns out growing this being
feels like
what I was made for.

No more hip bones
protruding, just
soft curves, softer still.

This body
simultaneously mine/not mine
it’s magic it’s
home
to my baby and I
while we grow us one
just for a while longer.

Sometimes I think I’ll miss him
when he’s not a part of my body
yet I know
I’ll dance in every moment
he breathes on his own
because motherhood is simultaneously
mine/not mine.

Because this body can only hold
temporary truths
as he grows,
this body can be home
mine, his
soft, and softer still.