Smallest Weight

She just put it there. Without a word.

This tiny, hot bundle, a fragile knot

of life, smelling of milk and something

like earth, new dirt.

Its head, so soft against my shoulder,

a pulse I could almost feel through its skull.

My hands, suddenly too big, too clumsy,

almost shaking with the sheer, unexpected

force of it. A small, furious miracle.

And I felt it all. Every nerve just hummed.

Terror. Tenderness. A dizzying, sick sort

of love I didn't ask for. It breathed against my neck,

and the world went sideways.