For breasts

For breasts

A blessing in the style of John O'Donohue

We are grateful for breasts.

For breasts which nurtured us

Over whose gracious curve

Is the joining with the mother gaze

Not separate, we are grateful.

For the soft breasts of grandmother’s hugs

That heal a grazed knee

We are grateful.

For pimple breasts

Hidden by folded arms and hunched shoulders

Heralding impending womanhood,

For the blossoming of girl into woman;

And for breasts that are caressed within their first bra,

Suddenly shapely,

We are grateful.

We are grateful

For breasts, pressed in hugs from

mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, girlfriends and lovers.

For breasts ripened into glowing fruit,

And breasts which are pressed, caressed in passion

We are grateful.

We are grateful for breasts which give suckle to our babes.

We are grateful.

And yet when breasts must sacrifice to prolong our

Time with the beloved ones,

We are grateful,

Knowing

we

are

not

those

breasts.

In all these changes,

Bound by time and space

we are not this.

Yet we are grateful

For love and life.

©Tina Shettigara

Ambogio Begognone "Madonna Lactans" c1485: Accademia Carrara, Bergamo