The cries could be heard
from down the hall
this is the sound of new life
the sound of love
the sound of joy.

This tiny girl with no idea of existence
no idea of loss.
She only knows love
she only feels warmth.

She looks up and smiles
with no idea of the hardships to come
the love to be found and the love to be lost
only to be found again.

This is purity
this is innocence
this is beauty

She will live in the moment
she will be happiness
she will be free
she will be a child

She will grow to look at herself in the mirror with hate
because she is becoming a woman
and society dictates her feelings of herself
she will not be tiny
and she will feel less than because of this
this will be her greatest struggle
and this will defeat her
but she will overcome it
just to take a few steps back the next day.

She will find love
and she will love completely
she’ll say I do, to have and to hold
and she will find herself in her mother’s shoes
and they too will hear the cries from down the hall.

This is the sound of new life
again
the circle of life
her baby girl soon to become a woman
she will teach her she is beautiful
like her mother taught her
and pray that it influences her own vision
but it won’t
because society dictates her feelings of herself
and she will feel less than because of it.

She was a woman of integrity
she was a woman who loved completely
she was a woman who never felt good enough
beautiful enough
but she overcame it
just to take a few steps back the next day
and to continue forward the following day
on this cycle of life
this cycle of love
this cycle of growth.

The cries could be heard from down the hall
as she smiled at this life she lived
as she took her last breath.

This is the sound of heartache
the sound of loss
the sound of fear
but it will be overcome
only to take a few steps back the next day
in this circle of life.