THE ALMOST BABY

Reaching the mid-way point,

the locus of no return

on the flight path of my life

I reflect more and more

on the conditions

of the journey from

the Eagle's austere aspect.

On one such lonely transcendent soaring

I found myself surrounded

by lovely chattering

healthy Asian children,

being pulled down

the street

by their attentive mother,

like a string of

little ducklings

to a pond.

It reminded me that the nearest I

had ever come to realisation

of this great mixed blessing

occurred some years ago

as the result

of a mistaken evening

spent and lost

on a feathered battleground

with a lovely

Chinese woman.

I found out later

that I was the father

of a small spark of human life

that promised a wonderful mixture

of many races

growing calmly together

in the belly of its mother.

My new-found status lasted for 6 weeks
 
until the concept was suppressed

in the course of an afternoon visit
 
to a witchdoctor of the healing arts.

Even now

I reflect upon the almost baby

that never quite was,

and wonder....