Warm Blankets

homebirth supply list
10 clean receiving blankets
oven-baked sterile

wrapped in brown paper
baked at 250 degrees
for 2 whole hours.

when the pushing starts
assistant puts wrapped blankets
in oven to warm.

torn free of paper
wrapped around eel-slick newborn
cuddled at the breast.

when i caught malcolm
i told garry "you were right;
they are slippery."

bump between his legs
after two daughters, I thought there
was something wrong with him.

i remembered
that babies come in two types
"it's a little boy."

"what do I do with
one of these?" i wondered, as
i drank his beauty.

the comic relief
at the heart of mystery
welcome new being.