I came across this poem about birth on Instagram. If anyone knows the original author, please comment below and let me know! It’s so beautiful, I had to share…

“In case no one has told you…
the journey won’t make sense until you’re on the other side

While you’re walking the path
Doing the holy work of birth
Sweating and swaying and swearing
You’ll be so deep in it
So consumed by the sensations
That you won’t be able to see the end
Or even the progress you’ve made

You’ll feel lost at points
Desperate even
Grasping at some sense of linear time
At a roadmap you can follow
At a finish line you can see
And coming up empty handed

Minutes are hours are days are lifetimes are galaxies
Each contraction takes you deeper
And it’s impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel
When you are the tunnel
And the darkness 
And the whole entire planet
hurtling through space

And those electric candles and twinkly lights that you put up to set the mood
Seem so silly now
as you’re being tossed and turned 
Inside out
Moaning and panting your way through
celestial portals 

But then you’ll emerge
Unimaginable relief
Tidal waves of joy crashing over you 
Triumph and deliverance 
Pride and peace 
And a love so expansive 
Your heart will explode 

And it will all make sense
You will see how your journey
Was written in the stars
That you were never lost
Every contraction
Every moment when you thought you couldn’t go on
Was simply a stepping stone
On your way home 

You will see 
that your magic mirrored the universe
That you were one in the same
birthing new worlds
Power and beauty in ecstatic motion”