Owen Gallagher: a poem

Home Birth

You had been pushing a wheelbarrow of sand

and cement for me to start pointing the bricks

of the bedroom extension where you were

to deliver our child, when you said you felt

as if you'd been carrying a bag of gravel

in your belly and now it was about to split.

I helped you into the house and rang the doctor

who came, and then growing impatient for

our delivery, went for a walk. While he was gone,

I held your hand as you squeezed out our son

like mortar from the icing-bag. He clung to you,

a footing for life. His mouth lapped onto

your guttering spout of milk, then he fell asleep

on the job and I cooked you a builder's breakfast.

Owen Gallagher is the author of four poetry collections (you can find them here); the most recent being Clydebuilt, published by Smokestack books in 2019. The Sikh Snowman, a children’s picture book, was published by Culture Matters in 2020 and his poem "Straight Up" was a Guardian poem of the week.