Pregnancy and Being

It's different than I thought it would be,
Seeing mothers with their swollen bellies
In the days before I had mine.
I had imagined the sensation of weight
Would be all in front, but instead it's
All on top of my spine and pelvis.
Mostly it's a feeling of great compaction,
An increase in gravity or density or both.
I am struck by all the dualities of being:
United but Separate,
Heavy but Light,
Temporary but Forever,
Fierce but Vulnerable,
Confident but Trembling,
I am both Butterfly and Coccoon.