Becoming

Hands tightly coiled into fists, arms flailing wildly, legs kicking,
         He proclaims his birth
         With an impressive wail.
Gloved hands gently enfold the slippery newborn
         Into a warm blanket,
         Leaving his wrinkled face and tiny fists for all to see.
These same hands gently pose the swaddled baby
         Into his father's hands, making the newborn appear even tinier
         As the man cradles his infant.
He kisses each little fist before placing
         The whimpering bundle
         On the bare chest of its mother.
Her hands reach out with longing as she eagerly awaits
         The joy of caressing her child
         during these first minutes of life outside her womb.
With timid hands, she unwraps her infant's swathing,
         And turns him on his belly,
         Her skin to his skin.
She stares down at him, her face stained with joyful tears,
         As her gentle hand
         Soothingly strokes the fuzz on his head.
Her hand moves down his little body and rests ever so lightly
         On his back so she can feel
         The up and down of his breathing.
At the touch and strokes of his mother's hands,
         Her fingers on the soft skin of his cheek,
         Her son no longer whimpers.
She reaches for his fist and tenderly unfurls it
         with a gentle hand and
         kisses his tiny palm.
The mother puts her finger in her newborn's open hand
         He grasps and closes his hand
         Tightly around her finger, with a firm grip.
She counts the fingers on his curled baby hand and marvels at
The perfection of each nail, the length of his fingers,
         the dimples where knuckles will eventually form.
She gazes up at her husband who has moved closer to them
         To mother and newborn,
         And she smiles at him warmly and ever so lovingly.
He leans over them and places his hands on the new mother's
         Cheeks and
         kisses her lips.
He cradles her hand, warmed from caressing their baby,
         resting his hand on hers and the tiny hand
         clutching her finger. "We are a family," he whispers to them both.