New Year’s Baby

[Spoken]
I was there when you were born
I was there when you started your descent down, deep down
Into the vortex of your mother
I was there when you, in your own exquisite timing
Continued your descent down, deep down
Into the primordial channel of your mother
I was there when you, in your own exquisite timing
Reflected as the moon the old song of the universe
Pushing, pausing
Pushing, pausing
Testing for dilation in your mother's womb
Pushing again, pausing again
A woman's voice speaking to your mothеr:
"Bear down now. Wait. Bear down now. Wait."
I was therе when you, in your own exquisite timing
Verified the reverse path of the Kundalinic serpent
Your mortal coil twisting towards the gateway of life
And I was there when you, in your own exquisite timing
Came bursting forth, bursting forth
Clinging for dear life
To the back of the tiger of rippling muscles and gushing waters
And I was there, my hands shaking and my heart pounding
As I tried to film your arrival for your parents
Hoping to God, praying to God that I wasn't shooting the laundry basket
And I was there when you, in your own exquisite timing
Came to a full stop into the loving cup of your mother's hands
Facing us all with the unblinking, three hundred and sixty degree stillness
Of a little old man
And I was there when they bound and swaddled you in white linen
White, the color of truth

[Music begins]

And it is I that found you this week in your apartment
Your sixteen years now cupped
Within the tangle of your own bruised arms and record collection
And it was I who bound and swaddled you in white linen
White, the color of truth
And it is I who sits beside you in this quiet room
As you face, with unblinking stillness, the privacy curtain
You looking younger now than you did when you were born
And it is I that is remembering for you how hard you fought to get here
Is remembering for you the long descent down, deep down
Into the vortex of your mother
Is remembering for you the strength and fierceness
With which you ensured your entrance to this world
A rite of passage so deliberately difficult
That all other trials would be acceptable by comparison
I am here because I was there
And I am here now because ah, you are giving birth to yourself again
And I am here because I am not fooled by the drugs
And the defiant posters
I am here as you push and pause, push and pause
Through your sixteen years
Dilating your soul until once again, in your own exquisite timing
The life force will flicker, flare up
Behind the gateway of your uncomprehending eyes
Sending the recognition of self rushing forward
Clinging for dear life
To the back of the tiger of rippling muscles and gushing waters
And I am here telling you over and over and over again
The story of your birth
For you will be born again and again
Even as you gather yourself beneath yourself
Even as you gather yourself beneath yourself
To send your force forth once more well beyond these sixteen years
Here we go again

[Music stops]

I was there when you were born
I was there when you started your descent down, deep down
Into the vortex of your mother
And I was there when your triumphant cry
Rang out upon the world like a symphony of bells