Born at Night

I was born at 11:34pm

On a Wednesday

So I was almost
A Thursday baby

But not quite

I can’t quite see yet

But I have what’s called

The Infant Eye

It’s only referred to

By other infants

And once you get older

You forget everything

You knew as an infant

And nobody even explains to you

Why you think the things you think

And while you’re still quite new

You’re also old

Because all energy on the planet

Has been there

Since the beginning of time

And before you learn how to recycle

The energy given to you

To create the person

You’re going to become

You get to borrow energy

That’s been newly disposed of

Some people think of this

As reincarnation

But it’s really just borrowing

Insight

From those who are no longer

On this earth

In a physical form

And if this all sounds

Too trippy for you

Don’t worry

That’s about as complex as it gets

At least as far

As I’m concerned

The first thing I became aware of

Were my ears

I thought they were too big

Now, all infants have something about them

When they’re first born

That they don’t like very much

For some, it’s they’re born with birthmarks

Or spots that disappear

Or hair that’ll eventually fall out

And they make peace with the fact that they’re new

And being new means things will change

And you’ll grow into yourself

And all will be well

Except in my case

I knew

That I was stuck

With these ears

The Infant Eye told me so

My eyes, by the way, were just the right size

I knew the minute I was born

That I was going to be a woman

With big ears

And what’s worse

I would spend my infancy

Knowing I was going to have big ears

Then I would grow old enough to forget

And there would be this wonderful period of time

Where I wouldn’t be aware

Of my ears

But only a short period of time

Because then I’d look in the mirror

And realize my burden

All over again

There are worse things to have

I know that

I knew it

The minute I was born

The Infant Eye has no time

For whiners

Even though babies

Do tend to cry

An awful lot

It told me that I was going

To be a very beautiful woman

Despite my ears

And that I would accomplish many great things

And deliver a lot of joy

To everyone I came in contact with

Over my lifetime

That was all lovely to hear

But I still wanted to hear it

Through slightly smaller ears

We all go out into the world with something
About ourselves we don’t like

Even brand new

It’s our natural inclination

To disapprove

It starts within our bodies

--And travels

I will do everything

The Infant Eye told me

I would do with my life

But I’ll also hate these ears

For as long as I’m alive

Right up until the moment I’m not

And then I’ll feel pretty stupid

About the whole thing

You’re born feeling wise

And you die feeling dumb

And nobody knows why

It isn’t the other way around

Maybe if I had been born

On a Thursday

I would have had reasonable ears

But something else wrong with me

The Butterfly Effect isn’t as real

As some people make it out to be

But when you’re born

Does bring about things in you

That otherwise wouldn’t be there

I was born at night

And so I’m going to like coffee

Pleasant music

Soft sheets

Dancing in public

And the lights on top of buildings

The little red dots

And how they fade out

As the sun comes up

But I’m never

Going to like

My ears

Just the way it goes, you know

And I guess it could have gone

Much worse