Summary

The poem "Rebirth" contemplates the profound journey of a human baby from the womb into the world, longing for the consciousness and sensory experiences of fetal life and the transformative passage through birth.

Abstract

"Rebirth" is a reflective poem that delves into the existential desire to re-experience the prenatal state of being. The speaker yearns to return to the womb with a heightened awareness, to feel the amniotic fluid, and to undergo the miraculous process of development and birth. The poem draws parallels between the baby's descent into the world and the biblical descent from heaven, emphasizing the magnitude of the journey. It ponders the mechanics of birth, the role of the body's organic processes, and the influence of elemental interactions as dictated by the laws of nature, rather than divine intervention. The poem culminates in the baby's emergence into a world characterized by the complexities of late capitalism, ready to face the realities of life outside the womb.

Opinions

The speaker expresses a deep longing to experience the consciousness within the mother's womb, highlighting a fascination with the intrauterine environment.
There is a reverence for the biological processes involved in pregnancy and childbirth, likening them to divine or mystical experiences.
The poem suggests a secular view of birth, attributing the event to natural laws and the body's mechanics rather than religious or supernatural forces.
The baby's journey through the birth canal is portrayed as a significant rite of passage, akin to a spiritual descent or a hero's journey.
The poem conveys a sense of wonder and anticipation about the new world the baby is about to enter, alongside an acknowledgment of its potential hazards.
The use of the term "purulent vulva" introduces a stark and perhaps critical perspective on the act of birth, juxtaposing the beauty of new life with the pain and physical strain of childbirth.
The mention of "late capitalism" at the poem's end suggests a socio-political commentary on the state of the world into which the baby is born, hinting at a critique of contemporary society.

Rebirth

A poem on the birth of a human baby.

I want to become a fetus again,

Gestating in utero,

With alert senses,

And memories eidetic.

I want to have consciousness

In my mother’s womb.

I want to see and feel

Inside the pit of life.

And go through the

Transformative process

Of crossing the Rubicon

Between existence and redundancy.

I want to breathe in and taste

The amniotic fluid —

The elixir, the ever-green liquid.

And feel the umbilical cord

Supplying me with

Life and feelings,

And whisking away

My waste and remorse.

I want to reorient myself lento,

Head down, facing the ground,

As if in a praying attitude,

Chin tucked to chest like a good boy

And ready to engage

With all-purpose and intent:

Slowly presenting myself

In the cephalic position.

Then, I will embark on the greatest

Adventure of my life,

The most thrilling journey,

The harshest climb-down

Like the descent from heaven

Of our Quranic Archparents,

In search of the Seerat al-mustaqim

(The path of least resistance),

Through the dilated cervix.

But who will show me the way,

And teach me the cadence of

The cardinal dance?

I know not any gods or prophets or scriptures,

Nor any charlatans or hacks or witches.

Who will rescue me

From this predicament?

— “It’s all our will,

And the organic mechanics of the body,

And the design by periodic interactions

Of the matters supreme as

Canonized in Mendeleev’s infallible bible

Of the prime elements.”

I shall be travelling through the

Earthing canal and experience

My skull flexing and moving

And pushing through

The pelvic bones,

Out the purulent vulva’s

Opening to the treacherous world.

Ah, all the glory and hazards

That comes with the occiput anterior!

I shall, at last, savour

The toxic air of late capitalism.

For the first time, I shall cry,

And percept the solar radiation.

For, we are what we seek.

Halifax, 13.07.21