How You Arrived
In that house
you were conceived.
See that room
on the second floor
to the left?
That’s it, that’s the holy place.
Later,
your mother and I
went for a walk
up the mountain,
stopping
at a clearing.
Chickadees
sang to us
from the spruce
trees,
told us your name–
the name of a girl.
We vowed
to make
a home
on the spot
where the birds
foretold your birth.
© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved
